Saturday 31 December 2016

Things that happen every second (part 2)

This year, New Year's Eve will last slightly longer than a normal New Year's Eve, because the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service have decided that this New Year's Eve will include an extra 'leap second'. This is because geological and climatic factors mean the Earth's rotational speed varies by microscopic amounts, so to keep things precise, an extra second is added to the clock every now and again.

If you're thinking of discovering time travel, think again!
It may seem a bit OCD to worry about miniscule changes of only a second, especially when dealing with an object as big as the Earth, but in actual fact a second can be a very significant period of time. A lot can happen in a second, as you can see from the following list of facts.

Every second...

1) ... 49,515 Google searches are made.


2) ... 0.29 Google searches are made for...
'Star Wars'.


3) ...0.0000076 Google searches are made for...
'Dinosaurs were made up by the CIA to discourage time travel'.

Saturday 24 December 2016

How to say 'Merry Christmas' in other languages

This is how you say 'Merry Christmas' in English.
One of the things I love to do is go travelling, and as I come from England and I don't like being cold, I therefore usually plan my travels to coincide with the English winter. This means that I'm often away backpacking for Christmas, and as you get to meet other backpackers from around the world it means that you often learn how to say Merry Christmas in various other languages.

So in the spirit of worldwide festivities, here is how to say Merry Christmas in various languages from around the world, starting with a familiar sounding version from Japan...

Japanese - meri kurisumasu

Saturday 17 December 2016

10 Christmas themed jokes (part 2)

Merry Christmas!
To help everyone get in the mood for Christmas, here's another round-up of Christmas themed jokes featuring festive vampires, anatine Santas, and bald men.

Be warned though, that some of these jokes are quite cheesy...

1) What's the difference between the Christmas alphabet and the standard alphabet?
The Christmas alphabet only has 25 letters because it has no L (Noel).


2) What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?
A Christmas quacker.


3) Why does Santa have three gardens?
So he can 'Hoe, hoe, hoe!'

Saturday 10 December 2016

Is Santa Claus real?

As anyone who's read 'Santa and the Naughty Elf' by my younger brother, Charles Fudgemuffin, Jr, will know, Santa Claus is very real indeed. But what does Siri have to say on the matter? I asked Siri for her opinion on whether Santa Claus is real or not, and as you can see below, she had quite a bit to say on the subject.

We also chatted about a few other Christmas related subjects, so here are a few quotes from our conversation.

1) "Is Santa Claus real?"


First up I asked Siri a question that everyone wonders at one point in their life...

"Hey Siri, is Santa Claus real?"


Saturday 3 December 2016

Top selling toys from years gone by (part 2)

It's only a few weeks until Christmas, so that means it's time for part two of my nostalgic trip down memory lane as I look at more toys found on lists to Santa from years gone by. Once again, I've included the decade when the toys were first released, or the decade when they first achieved popularity, but of course the best toys are timeless, so don't be surprised if you associate some of these toys with a different era...

1950s - Slinky


Slinky.
Loved by kids around the world for its period of oscillation,
according to Wikipedia.
The simplicity of the Slinky toy made it a hit through the generations, and it's still going strong today. In fact incredibly, over a billion Slinkys have been sold worldwide since it was first invented! I could list any number of interesting facts about Slinky, but here's one from Wikipedia:

Due to the forces of gravity, a Slinky bunches up at the bottom because:

    p(n) = L(n-1)^2

Fascinating! And did you know that the period of oscillation of a dangling slinky is:

    T = 2/pi/sqrt{/frac{m}{k}}

Wow! Amazing! Although to be honest, that one was fairly obvious, so it probably didn't need pointed out.