10 real facts that sound made up (part 2)

Back from the dead.
A Dagenham & Deadbridge fan.

This week's blog post features another round-up of strange sounding facts, but once again I've included one fake 'fact' in the list. I suppose therefore that strictly speaking, the title should read 'nine real facts that sound made-up and one that actually is made up'.

See if you can guess which one it is...

1) Premature condolences

Back in 1993, non-league football side Congleton Town FC were forced to cancel a minute's silence to mourn the death of the clubs oldest fan ... when the allegedly dead fan walked into the ground!

2) "Hmm, how much wrapping paper do I need?"

In the early days of the US Parcel Post Service, at least two children were sent by post. This prompted the Postmaster General to issue a regulation making the sending of children in the mail illegal.

Choosing a book cover for 'Crime Doesn't Pay'

In a few weeks time* I'll be releasing 'Crime Doesn't Pay' (a collection of crime themed short stories), so this week I'd like to ask for help in choosing a book cover.

* Update: I ultimately decided to publish the collection of short stories under the alterantive title of 'How To Poison Your Husband And Get Away With It'.

To keep with the crime theme, when designing the book cover I've firstly written the title 'Crime Doesn't Pay' in the style of a ransom note. Based on this theme I've then narrowed it down to a choice of three designs, and to help me decide I've created a poll.

If anyone could spare the time to check out the three designs below and then vote for their preference I would greatly appreciate it.

The first design uses a few blood splatters...

National Pug Day (part 2)

Last year on National Pug Day I featured a few photos of my parents' mischievous pugs, Bella and Phoebe. It was a very popular post, so there must be lots of pug lovers out there (just like me), so as today is National Pug Day here are a few more photos of Bella and Phoebe, featuring ice cream, general mischief and snuggly pugs!

1) The happiest day of Bella's life!

This was one of the happiest day of Bella's life. The day she discovered the fridge!

"Wow! Look at all the goodies in here!"

Higher or lower quiz

This week the Charles Fudgemuffin blog features a higher or lower quiz covering a variety of random topics, such as germs, volcanic lava and Lego. For each question see if you can guess which of the two choices is the highest, but bear in mind that some of the answers perhaps aren't always what you would expect...

1) Bacteria at work

One of the most germ-free places in the house, apparently.

If you were to examine a square inch on a typical toilet seat and compare it with a square inch on a typical work desk, which would have the most germs?

A) Toilet seat
B) Work desk

Answer:
Surprisingly, a toilet seat is vastly more hygienic than a workdesk. A square inch would typically contain a mere 50 microbes on a toilet seat, compared with a massive 10 million microbes on a workdesk!

According to Dr Gerba, "It's (toilet seat) one of the cleanest things you'll run across in terms of micro-organisms. It's our gold standard. There are not many things cleaner than a toilet seat when it comes to germs."

That may be true, but I still wouldn't fancy doing my work on a toilet seat!

Answer:
A) Toilet seat - 50 microbes
B) Work desk - 10 million microbes - Most germs

Disclaimer: Despite the low germ count, Charles Fudgemuffin does not recommend eating your dinner off your toilet seat!

The World According To The Man In The Pub 2

Can a gecko support its entire body weight with only one toe?

I'm a fan of weird trivia and I also like 'true or false' quizzes, so a book which instantly appealed to me was 'The World According To The Man In The Pub 2' by Robert Anwood.

It's full of dubious 'pub facts', i.e. interesting claims which are often reported by pub patrons as facts. In some cases the claims are indeed true, but in other cases the claims are as ridiculous as they sound.

The pub facts are grouped together into various categories, such as science, sports and showbiz, and to give you an idea of what to expect, here's a brief sample of the type of facts and misfacts found in the book. See if you can guess which of the following pub facts are true, and which are fictitious...

1) A gecko's skin is so sticky that it can support its entire body weight clinging upside down to the ceiling by only one toe.
True or false?