Short story reviews

The covers to some of my recent short stories.

In recent weeks I've published several short stories, and thankfully quite a few of them have had positive reviews.

It's always nice when someone downloads your book or short story, and it's even nicer when a reader leaves positive feedback, so big thanks to anyone who has read any of my short stories, and massive thanks to anyone who has left a review on Amazon.

Here are some of the recent reviews:

Alternative uses for five of the most deadly poisons in the world

This week the usually light-hearted Charles Fudgemuffin blog gets serious as we take a look at five of the most powerful toxins in the world, starting with a toxin which will be familiar to most people...

1) Botulinum

Don't try this at home!

Botulinum is the most powerful toxin known to man, and when delivered intravenously a dose of a mere 1.3-2.1 ng/Kg is estimated to be enough to kill a human! Based on a typical adult weighing 70 Kg, that means a dose as low as 0.000000119 grams could potentially kill someone!

Alternative use:

Most people will probably have heard of the most famous form of botulinum, which is marketed commercially as Botox.

You may find it strange that the most powerful poison known to man would be available commercially, but don't worry ... Botox isn't marketed at people looking to poison someone! Botulinum also has medical uses such as treating muscle spasms and overactive muscles, as well as being used for cosmetic purposes to reduce facial wrinkles.

Surprisingly, botulinum can also be used to treat excessive sweating. I have to say, being treated with one of the most powerful toxins known to man would only make me sweat more!

10 facts about walking

Its only 247 days until National Walking Day (April 2nd, 2018), so to celebrate here are ten walking related facts!

These shoes were made for walking.
Or specifically, hiking.
But that's basically the same thing, more or less.
Editor's note: Hiking is a specific form of walking,
generally in natural surroundings.

1) The world is 24,900 miles in circumference and the average walking pace is 3 miles per hour. It would therefore take a person walking nonstop approximately 346 days to walk around the world.


2) However, to do so they would have to be able to walk on water because they would come across numerous oceans on their travels!


3) The longest walk around the world (not literally obviously, because he couldn't walk on water) was completed by Jean Beliveau who walked a massive 46,600 miles around 64 countries in 11 years.

Gravity, and how to lose weight

The weight of an average adult varies around the world, from an average of 57.7Kg in Asia, to an average of 80.7 in North America.

However, the weight of an average adult varies far more dramatically once you leave Earth and travel around the solar system. For example, the average adult weighs far less on the Moon than they do on Earth. So if you want to lose weight in a hurry, the quickest way to do so is to live on the Moon!

Here's what an average adult would weight on various planets and other universal objects, based on an average weight of 70 Kg.

Pluto, the dwarf planet.

Pluto - 4.6 Kg

As I'm sure everyone is aware now, Pluto is no longer a planet and in 2006 was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a dwarf planet. However, although the IAU had the power to take away Pluto's planetary status, they didn't have the power to take away it's gravity!

What little gravity it has, that is, because on the dwarf planet of Pluto, due to its low gravity an average adult would weigh a mere 4.6 Kg!

Equivalent object on Earth = That's a little heavier than a newborn baby.

A puzzle involving truth and lies

The Puppet Master
A short story by Charles Fudgemuffin

This week my latest short story 'The Puppet Master' was published for kindle from Amazon. Here's the blurb...

"A mysterious masked figure wearing two puppets on his hands is shooting random strangers with poison darts. He then sets his victims a puzzle which they must solve in return for the antidote. Is this 'Puppet Master' crazy? Or is there a method to his madness..."

Without giving away too much of the plot, the Puppet Master is kind of like a crazy Batman villain. If his victims correctly solve the puzzle, they get to drink an antidote to the poison and survive. If they fail to solve the puzzle, well ... it's curtains!

If you want to test yourself, this is the puzzle that the Puppet Master sets his victims...

"After shooting you with a poison dart, the Puppet Master appears wearing a blue puppet on his right hand and a red puppet on his right hand. He then places three bottles containing coloured liquid on the ground in front of you. One of the liquids is blue, one is red, and the third liquid is purple. One of these bottles contains more poison, one of the bottles contains an antidote, and the third bottle simply contains coloured water. However, you don't know which bottle is which.

Star Wars: 'Guess the movie name' quiz

It's only 166 days until the next Star Wars movie is released, so to celebrate, this week the Charles Fudgemuffin blog features a Star Wars movie quiz!

See if you can work out the name of the Star Wars movie from each of the following cryptic visual clues...

1) Clue: How many?

Four twitter accounts, all belonging to ladies with the same name.

Micromorts: The risk of dying (part 2)

The risk of death can be measured statistically.

I've mentioned before on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog that there's actually a unit to measure the risk of dying known as the 'micromort'.

Just to recap, a micromort is a million to one chance of dying, so an activity with a 5 micromort rating would carry a five in a million chance of death.

This week I look at the micromort rating for a few more activities, starting with a comparison of how the safety of various forms of travel compare...

1) Transport

I love travelling around the world, so it's just as well that I'm not afraid of flying.  However, anyone who is afraid of flying should check out the figures below* which compare the risk of travelling 1,000 kilometres by various forms of transport...