January 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Paul McKenna: I chose my wife by Excel spreadsheet –
Paul McKenna, the hypnotist and self-help guru, has disclosed that he decided who to marry by using an Excel spreadsheet. The 52-year-old revealed the software – normally used by accountants and office administrators – helped him to choose his wife-to-be, his long-time personal assistant Kate Davey. McKenna, who is worth around £40m, said a friend had pointed out that although he had dated a “lot of beautiful women”, he “didn’t actually like them”. He was encouraged to “make an Excel spreadsheet” to find out who he loved – and it turned out to be Kate, who has worked with him for 20 years. The pair revealed their feelings to each other three years ago and are now engaged to be married. [Daily Telegraph]
Paul_McKennaPaul McKenna

Video of the Day –

Infinity Room – [TIEE] from Refik Anadol on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (67-100)

67. MI5 erroneously suspected novelist Doris Lessing of running a brothel.

Find out more (Independent)

68. US Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders released a spoken-word folk album in 1987.

Find out more (Dangerous Minds)

69. It is possible to have orgasms in your left foot.

Find out more (New York magazine)

70. The formula for the perfect poohstick is PP = A x I x Cd.

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71. Silk can be made from the solidified saliva of a clam.

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72. Gorillas have individual tastes in music.

Find out more (Discover Magazine Blogs)

73. The simpler and more repetitive a song’s lyrics, the more likely it is to reach number one in the Billboard Hot 100, debut in the top 40 and climb the chart more rapidly.

Find out more (Psychology Today)

74. The producer who was Gordon the Gopher’s puppeteer ended up as the BBC’s head of editorial standards.

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75. Bill Cosby was the first choice to play Sam Malone in Cheers, ahead of Ted Danson.

Find out more (Hollywood Reporter)

76. In their spare time, US fighter pilots play a mash-up of pool and rugby called crud.

Find out more (New York Times)

77. Scots have 421 words for snow.

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78. Lies are more convincing when the person telling them needs to urinate.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

79. Spotify’s shuffle is not truly random but sprinkles different genres evenly across a playlist and alternates songs by the same artist.

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80. The English composer Benjamin Britten wrote a national anthem for Malaysia, only for it to be rejected in favour of a cabaret tune.

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81. Elephants almost never get cancer.

Find out more (Nature News)

82. Actor Brian Blessed says that he delivered a baby in a park, bit through the umbilical cord and then licked the infant’s face clean.

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83. People who like their coffee black are more likely to be psychopaths.

Find out more (Huffington Post)

84. American toddlers shoot one person a week on average.

Find out more (Washington Post)

85. Biff Tannen’s older self, as portrayed in Back to the Future Part II, was based on Donald Trump.

Find out more (Daily Beast)

86. The US used to relocate beavers by parachuting them out of planes.

Find out more (Mashable)

87. Dancing to Gangnam Style could raise people’s pain thresholds.

Find out more (Wired)

88. Pregnancies conceived in December have the best chance of success.

Find out more (Netmums)

89. Men with beards have a greater tendency to hold sexist attitudes than their clean-shaven counterparts.

Find out more (Mental Floss)

90. Footballers have worse teeth than the general population.

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91. It’s possible to hallucinate a foreign accent.

Find out more (Brain Decoder)

92. Victoria’s Secret Bombshell perfume is almost as good at repelling mosquitoes as commercial insect sprays containing Deet.

Find out more (Daily Beast)

93. Germaine Greer wrote a 30,000-word love letter to Martin Amis in 1976.

Find out more (the Guardian)

94. You’re So Vain definitely is about Warren Beatty (and two other men).

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95. A 17th Century scientist planned to paint the bubonic plague on to hats to create a biological weapon.

Find out more (New Scientist)

96. The Churchill household spent around £1,160 each year on wine, £104,400 in today’s money.

Find out more (the Economist)

97. A cow’s flatulence could fill a 55-gallon (250-litre) bag with methane in one day.

Find out more (Grist)

98. It would cost £11,602.25 to send a letter to Mars from the UK.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

99. Text messages that end with a full stop are seen to be less sincere than those that don’t.

Find out more (Wired UK)

100. Employees who say they love following the rules are the ones who are most likely to be fired for breaking them.

Find out more (New York Magazine)

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1 #زد_رصيدك51 #OregonUnderAttack Gary Anderson
2 #OregonUnderAttack #MafiaGoogleSearches #TheVampsBTS
3 #جيش_سلمان_30_مل… #CactusBowl #OregonUnderAttack
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9 #UFC195 #PHIvsNYG The Dark Knight
10 #ConfesionesNocturnas #YallQaeda #ANWTC3

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March 26, 2016

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Rolling Stones treat Cuba to spectacular and historic gig –
Hundreds of thousands thronged to the Ciudad Deportiva stadium to see the British rockers, who follow hard on the heels of a visit by Barack Obama, in a week that few on this island are ever likely to forget. Amid growing hopes of reform and further opening, the Stones frontman emphasised how far the country has already come in cultural opening from the 1960s, when their songs were considered ideologically divergent. “We know that years ago, it was difficult to listen to our music in Cuba, but now here we are in your beautiful land,” Jagger said in Spanish. “I think that, finally, the times are changing. That’s true, no?” The crowd roared their agreement. [The Guardian]
Mick_Jagger_Deauville_2014Mick Jagger in 2014

Video of the Day –

Helios – Embrace from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.

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Worldwide USA UK
1 #FelizSabado #HolySaturday #BirdieSanders
2 #TeGanasMiCoraSi #10YearsOfAmazingPhil Gazza
3 #AklımaGelmişken #AIRMAXDAY #AIRMAXDAY
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9 #MafiaSemUnfSdv #SpeedDatingPickupLines #gogglebox
10 GO HARMONIZERS #DCRebirth #MorganTrump

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  • British rock band The Rolling Stones performs in Havana, Cuba, the first Western band to play an open-air free concert in the country, in what has been called a “historic moment.” Western music used to be banned in Cuba as being “ideologically divergent.” (The Guardian)
  • Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Robert De Niro announces the film, Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, will not be screened at the 2016 Festival as previously announced. “Grace [Hightower] and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined,” Mr. De Niro said. “… (our) Tribeca Film Festival team and others from the scientific community … do not believe (this film) contributes to or furthers the discussion (about autism) I hoped for,” the actor/producer said. (USA Today)
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May 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Mum in Chewbacca mask shatters Facebook Live record –
A braying Chewbacca mask found “on clearance” has shot a Texas mother to internet stardom. Candace Payne was not expecting to purchase the mask when she went to her local Kohls department store, just outside of Dallas, Texas. She doesn’t even consider herself a huge Star Wars fan. On Thursday, the 37-year-old mother of two was returning some items and was going to spend her birthday money on some exercise clothes or something “for the kids”. The Facebook Live video she broadcast from the store’s car park – immediately after purchasing the Chewbacca mask – has broken the record as the most-watched Facebook Live video – ever. “That’s just crazy,” Mrs Payne told the BBC. “I’m just laughing – in all honesty, that is ridiculous. I’ve looked at the number of views and it just seems like someone is just playing with a calculator.” It’s a big number: So far, more than 48 million people have watched Payne laugh hysterically as she shows Facebook her new purchase. [BBC] See Video of the Day [Also see 24 May – Video of the Day]
Candace Payne - ChewbaccaCandace Payne – Chewbacca

India records its hottest day ever –
A city in India’s Rajasthan state has broken the country’s temperature records after registering 51C, the highest since records began, the weather office says. The new record in Phalodi in the desert state comes amid a heatwave across India. The previous record for the hottest temperature stood at 50.6C in 1956. The heatwave has hit much of northern India, where temperatures have exceeded 40C for weeks. The run-up to the Indian monsoon season is always characterised by weeks of strong sunshine and increasing heat but life-threatening temperature levels topping 50C are unusual. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Candace Payne Chewbacca video

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June 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Finding Dory breaks US box office record –
Finding Dory has taken $136.2m (£93.3m) on its opening weekend – making it the most successful launch for an animated film in US box office history. The sequel to Finding Nemo has unseated Shrek the Third – which took $121.6m (£83.1m) on its release in 2007. It is also the second most successful opening weekend of 2016, behind Marv el’s Captain America: Civil War. Ellen DeGeneres voices the lead character in Finding Dory. [BBC]
Photo: Ellen Degeneres - public domainEllen DeGeneres (and others)

Video of the Day –

Why Don’t We Ever See Baby Pigeons? | Dolan Life Mysteries

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June 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

Democrats stage sit-in on House floor to force gun vote –
Dozens of House Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor Wednesday in protest of the GOP leadership’s refusal to allow a vote on a gun control measure following the Orlando massacre. Led by Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, and John Larson (D-Conn.), more than 40 Democrats walked into the chamber just before noon and pledged to “occupy” the House floor until GOP leadership allowed a vote. In one hour, their numbers more than tripled — even as Republicans recessed the House, turning off C-SPAN cameras and the video feed to the public. Democrats countered the TV camera blackout by streaming everything on their cellphones, which ended up on C-SPAN anyway. [Politico]

Mark Zuckerberg masks Mac webcam and microphone –
A photograph of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shows tape has been used to cover his MacBook Pro’s webcam and mic. Facebook has not responded to requests for comment about the picture, shared to celebrate Instagram reaching its 500 million monthly user milestone. FBI director James Comey has previously said he also covers his laptop’s webcam to prevent hackers spying on him. And digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said it regularly sold its webcam “stickers”. [BBC]
Mark Zuckerberg [Facebook]Mark Zuckerberg

Video of the Day –

World’s LARGEST NERF GUN!!

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November 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Designs unveiled to light London bridges on River Thames –
Six teams have been shortlisted for a design competition to permanently light up 17 of London’s bridges along the River Thames. The Illuminated River project will see the pedestrian, road and rail crossings between Albert and Tower Bridge lit. More than 100 international groups entered the competition which has raised £10m so far in private funding. The designs are on display at the Royal Festival Hall during November with the winner announced on 8 December. According to the organisers, the Illuminated River Foundation, the project will be funded “from private and philanthropic sources rather than the public purse”. The project has been backed by Sadiq Khan who said it would be a “wonderful celebration” of the river and “a major contribution to the growing importance of London’s night-time economy”. The foundation said they hoped to install the winning design in 2018 depending on whether they could raise more funds and following consultation with local councils and the people who own the bridges. [BBC] See List of the Day
Jubilee BridgeThe Jubilee Bridge by London Timelapse

Video of the Day –

UNSATISFYING from PARALLEL STUDIO on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

From west to east, the 17 London bridges and the years they were opened:

  • Albert Bridge – 1873
  • Chelsea Bridge – 1937
  • Grosvenor Bridge – 1859
  • Nine Elms Bridge (in development)
  • Vauxhall Bridge – 1906
  • Lambeth Bridge – 1932
  • Westminster Bridge – 1862
  • Hungerford Bridge – 1864 and Jubilee Bridge in 2002
  • Waterloo Bridge – 1945
  • The Garden Bridge (in development)
  • Blackfriars Bridge – 1869
  • Blackfriars Railway Bridge – 1886
  • Millennium Bridge – 2002
  • Southwark Bridge – 1921
  • Cannon Street Railway Bridge – 1866/1982
  • London Bridge – 1973
  • Tower Bridge – 1894

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November 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

New Zealand earthquake: Two dead following powerful tremor –
A powerful magnitude-7.8 earthquake has struck New Zealand’s South Island, killing at least two people. The quake hit just after midnight on Monday (11:02 GMT on Sunday), north-east of Christchurch. It was felt as far afield as the capital Wellington on the North Island, 120 miles (200km) away. A tsunami arrived about two hours later. Officials warned everyone along the eastern coast to head inland or for higher ground. Police said one person died in the town of Kaikoura on the eastern coast, which has been cut off by road and where electric power is out and phones are down. Another died in Mount Lyford, a ski resort nearby. It is not yet clear how they were killed. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

160 Characters from Victoria Mapplebeck on Vimeo.

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