February 18, 2015

Top News Stories –

F1 drivers banned from changing helmets –
Former Formula One drivers take to Twitter to criticise a new rule banning Formula 1 drivers from changing their helmet design during the season. Alex Wurz who chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, tweeted –
copyright @AlexWurz on Twitter
And Australian former Red Bull driver Mark Weber added –
copyright @AussieGrit on Twitter

The Boston Blizzard Challenge –
The mayor of Boston Martin Walsh has asked the public to stop jumping out of first floor windows into piles of snow left by the record levels of snow that has fallen in February. Bostonians are stripping down to their underwear and leaping into the snowdrifts in a trend called the Boston Blizzard Challenge, all for social media’s delight – a perfect Vine.

Video of the Day –


Little Dreams from Wilkie Branson on Vimeo.
CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…

October 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lewis Hamilton wins his third F1 World Championship –
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling United States Grand Prix to seal his third World Championship. Hamilton pressured team-mate Nico Rosberg into a mistake during a frantic last 10 laps after a safety car and swept by to take his 10th win of 2015. It was an exciting climax to a race of fluctuating fortunes, lead changes and superb racing in changing conditions. Hamilton becomes only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to win three Formula 1 drivers’ titles. [BBC] See List of the Day
Lewis_Hamilton_2014Lewis Hamilton

Moto GP: Valentino Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez –
MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Marquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation. He later accused Marquez of “making me lose the championship”. Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on 8 November. Rossi now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship. [BBC]
Valentino_RossiValentino Rossi

Video of the Day –

Confusion as Turkey clocks defy time-change delay –
Confused Turks are asking “what’s the time?” after automatic clocks defied a government decision to defer a seasonal hour’s change in the time. Along with other countries, Turkey had been due to “fall back” an hour on Saturday at the end of summertime daylight saving. The Turkish government however decided to postpone the change until after upcoming polls. But some clocks have changed the time regardless – causing bewilderment.
The hashtag #saatkac – or “what’s the time?” – is now trending in Turkey as Twitter users express confusion. [BBC]

Our Fractal Brains from Julius Horsthuis on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Formula One Grand Prix Winners
Rank Country Driver Wins Seasons active First win Last win
1  Germany Michael Schumacher 91 19912006
20102012
1992 Belgian Grand Prix 2006 Chinese Grand Prix
2  France Alain Prost 51 19801991
1993
1981 French Grand Prix 1993 German Grand Prix
3  United Kingdom Lewis Hamiltondagger 43 2007 2007 Canadian Grand Prix 2015 United States Grand Prix
4  Germany Sebastian Vetteldagger 42 2007 2008 Italian Grand Prix 2015 Singapore Grand Prix
5  Brazil Ayrton Senna 41 19841994 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix 1993 Australian Grand Prix
6  Spain Fernando Alonsodagger 32 2001
2003
2003 Hungarian Grand Prix 2013 Spanish Grand Prix
7  United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 31 19801992
19941995
1985 European Grand Prix 1994 Australian Grand Prix
8  United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 27 19651973 1965 Italian Grand Prix 1973 German Grand Prix
9  United Kingdom Jim Clark 25 19601968 1962 Belgian Grand Prix 1968 South African Grand Prix
9  Austria Niki Lauda 25 19711979
19821985
1974 Spanish Grand Prix 1985 Dutch Grand Prix
11  Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 24 19501951
19531958
1950 Monaco Grand Prix 1957 German Grand Prix
12  Brazil Nelson Piquet 23 19781991 1980 United States Grand Prix West 1991 Canadian Grand Prix
13  United Kingdom Damon Hill 22 19921999 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix 1998 Belgian Grand Prix
14  Finland Mika Häkkinen 20 19912001 1997 European Grand Prix 2001 United States Grand Prix
14  Finland Kimi Räikkönendagger 20 20012009
2012
2003 Malaysian Grand Prix 2013 Australian Grand Prix
16  United Kingdom Stirling Moss 16 19501962 1955 British Grand Prix 1961 German Grand Prix
17  United Kingdom Jenson Buttondagger 15 2000 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
18  Australia Jack Brabham 14 19551970 1959 Monaco Grand Prix 1970 South African Grand Prix
18  United Kingdom Graham Hill 14 19581975 1962 Dutch Grand Prix 1969 Monaco Grand Prix
18  Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 14 19701980 1970 United States Grand Prix 1975 British Grand Prix
21  Italy Alberto Ascari 13 19501955 1951 German Grand Prix 1953 Swiss Grand Prix
21  United Kingdom David Coulthard 13 19942008 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix 2003 Australian Grand Prix
23  United States Mario Andretti 12 19681972
19741982
1971 South African Grand Prix 1978 Dutch Grand Prix
23  Argentina Carlos Reutemann 12 19721982 1974 South African Grand Prix 1981 Belgian Grand Prix
23  Australia Alan Jones 12 19751981
1983
19851986
1977 Austrian Grand Prix 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
26  Canada Jacques Villeneuve 11 19962006 1996 European Grand Prix 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
26  Brazil Rubens Barrichello 11 19932011 2000 German Grand Prix 2009 Italian Grand Prix
26  Brazil Felipe Massadagger 11 2002
2004
2006 Turkish Grand Prix 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
26  Germany Nico Rosbergdagger 11 2006 2012 Chinese Grand Prix 2015 Austrian Grand Prix
30  Sweden Ronnie Peterson 10 19701978 1973 French Grand Prix 1978 Austrian Grand Prix
30  South Africa Jody Scheckter 10 19721980 1974 Swedish Grand Prix 1979 Italian Grand Prix
30  United Kingdom James Hunt 10 19731979 1975 Dutch Grand Prix 1977 Japanese Grand Prix
30  Austria Gerhard Berger 10 19841997 1986 Mexican Grand Prix 1997 German Grand Prix

List from Wikipedia

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 Rossi #7MonthsWithoutZayn #ClocksGoBack
2 SorryBieberIsBack #MTVEMA Martin Amis
3 #7MonthsWithoutZayn Flip Saunders Iraq War
4 #YaEsTipicoQue Tony Blair #XFactor
5 #Elecciones2015 #LifeLessonIn5Words #DerbyDay
6 #SPSSariSariLaf Jets Tony Blair
7 VoteOneDirectionEMA #5daysTilFocus #ARGvAUS
8 #HappyBirthdayKatyPerry #HIAC #NFLUK
9 #SaatKaç #5HAppreciationDay #TimeSongs
10 DAVID WATCH OUT Cowboys Chelsea

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks
Business and economics
  • The United Parcel Service pilots’ union authorizes its executive board to call a strike at the board’s discretion as contract talks slog into a fifth year. This, in the wake of competitor FedEx pilots’ approval of a new six-year contract. (WSJ)
Disasters and accidents
International relations
Law and crime
Politics and elections
Sports

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January 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Royal Shakespeare Company reveals its high-tech tips: carrots, cereal and tea bags –
The Royal Shakespeare Company is to open up its archives for the first time, sharing the behind-the-scenes secrets that have made their most accomplished productions. Anyone hoping to hear the highest-tech tricks of the trade, however, may be in for a surprise, as they disclose techniques even a schoolboy could master. The RSC’s first permanent exhibition of its own archives will show visitors how the company uses carrot sticks, rice crispies, and glue to pull off specific special effects. It will also how it uses tea bags and water to age the look of ordinary paper to make it appear Elizabethan: a trick used by schools up and down the land. The visitor attraction, called The Play’s The Thing, will open in June 2016, making it the RSC’s first exhibition devoted to the making of Shakespeare plays. It will be part of the restoration of the Swan Wing, built in 1879 and the oldest part of the Stratford-Upon-Avon theatre. [Daily Telegraph]
Swan_Theatre_StratfordSwan_Theatre_Stratford

Video of the Day –

Leftfield “Head and Shoulders” from Ewan Jones Morris on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (34-66)

34. Chewing something can partially excise earworms – songs that stick in the mind.

Find out more (the Times)

35. Former UK Liberal Democrat party leader Lord Ashdown told his successor that he used to eat hedgehogs.

Find out more (Evening Standard)

36. In north-eastern England, Conservative candidates used to wear red, Liberals blue and Labour green rosettes until the 1970s.

Find out more

37. Larry King tweets by calling a dedicated voicemail, which is listened to by an assistant who then transcribes his thought to Twitter.

Find out more (Vox)

38. Mali has two tax rates – 3% and 30% – and you might be asked which you’d rather pay.

Find out more

39. The world’s favourite colour is blue.

Find out more (YouGov)

40. Radiohead’s Thom Yorke appears on the front of an Iranian self-help book about marital and sex problems.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

41. Tom Cruise advised Nasa on how to design their website.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

42. Drug dealers in Marseille offer loyalty cards.

Find out more (The Local)

43. The worst times to drink coffee are between 08:00-09:00, 12:00-13:00 and 17:30-18:30. The best is about an hour after waking up, regardless of the time.

Find out more (AsapSCIENCE)

44. The chances of a successful bank robbery are higher in the morning – but it’s also among the least lucrative crimes.

Find out more

45. Iceland has the world’s happiest gay men.

Find out more (Planet Romeo)

46. Chinese authorities consider the phrase “your mum” too coarse for the internet.

Find out more (Bloomberg)

47. There are only three non-gentrifying neighbourhoods in New York City.

Find out more (Gawker)

48. Reddit has a very detailed 9,000-word guide to the dos and don’ts of giving away Game of Thrones spoilers.

Find out more (Reddit)

49. Oliver Cromwell supposedly called the Magna Carta the “Magna Farta” – he didn’t like it.

Find out more (New Yorker)

50. Most kangaroos are left-handed.

Find out more

51. Marvel Comics stipulates that Peter Parker must be white and straight but Spiderman can be of any ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Find out more (Washington Post)

52. The word “twerk” dates back to 1820.

Find out more

53. Heaven exists but hell does not, according to the theology of Sepp Blatter.

Find out more

54. UK officials discussed plans to relocate the entire 5.5 million population of Hong Kong to Northern Ireland in 1983.

Find out more

55. Three-times F1 world champion Niki Lauda swapped his trophies for unlimited free car washes.

Find out more (Reuters)

56. Playing Tetris for 12 minutes the day after a traumatic event can reduce flashbacks.

Find out more (Smithsonian magazine)

57. There are four main personality types into which people can be categorised when drunk: “Mary Poppins”, “Hemingway”, “Nutty Professor” and “Mr Hyde”.

Find out more (the Drinks Business)

58. Minions are all male because their creator believed they were too stupid to be female.

Find out more (The Wrap)

59. Nando’s is one of the biggest buyers of contemporary South African art.

Find out more (FT)

60. In Ohio, it’s illegal to disrobe in front of a man’s portrait.

Find out more (Slate)

61. A UK court can determine how short your shorts should be.

Find out more (Caerphilly, Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed Campaign)

62. Butt-dials aren’t considered private conversations in the US.

Find out more (Slate)

63. A baby is born on its predicted due date just 4% of the time.

Find out more

64. For three months, Leicestershire police didn’t investigate attempted burglaries if they occurred at odd-numbered properties.

Find out more (The Times)

65. Reindeer migration is a major live television event in Norway.

Find out more

66. Real Paleolithic people, contrary to some of the followers of the fashionable modern diet named after them, appear to have eaten plenty of carbohydrates.

Find out more (Quartz)

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #زد_رصيدك50 #NewBand1DelightOfJB Olamide
2 #NewBand1DelightOfJB #AustinAndAllyTakeOverWeekend #CleanForTheQueen
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4 Página 2 de 366 #LibertyBowl Kiss Daniel
5 #SabadoDetremuraSdv #FactsArentRacist #MoveToBoys2016
6 #FelizSabado #HistoryMonth #HowWeLivinMusicVideo
7 #ALDUBHappyBAEdayALDEN #AskEthanAndGrayson #Sherlock
8 #新年なので改めて�… #PardonMeButDoYouHave Lil Kesh
9 #Pathankot GRRM Happy New Year
10 #今年一年仲良くし�… #FastFoodHorrorFilms Don Jazzy

Other News Stories –

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