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Richard Walker

Geometry Question

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Edited by Richard Walker, Monday, 13 Jun 2022, 23:34

Suppose we start with an equilateral triangle of area 1 and draw a rectangle in it, how large can the area of the rectangle be?




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Richard Walker

Overwhelm, Whelm and Underwhelm

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Someone at the pub said what does ‘whelm’ mean? You can overwhelm or underwhelm, but can you whelm? Is whelming some kind of middle way?

A bit of research reveals that originally there was just whelm, a disaster that could happen to a boat or ship, meaning it could be overcome by weight of water and sink. Overwhelm just added the sense of a mass of water descending on the vessel.

So what about underwhelm? Well it seems to be a humorous coinage, first recorded in 1956. Here’s a couple of quotations the OED gives for whelm and underwhelm.

a1513   R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. clxxxviii   By the Mysgydynge of the Sterysman he was set vpon the Pylys of the Brydge, and the Barge whelmyd.

1956    T. K. Quinn Giant Corporations viii. 61   He wrote..commending the action of one of the giant corporations for a..price reduction at a time when prices were rising. I was underwhelmed, and investigated.

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Richard Walker

Dad joke

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I went out with an amorous fruit last night. It was a romantic date,

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Richard Walker

Shaken not stirred

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I had a terrible dream in which I was a cocktail made by incompetent bar staff. Woke up feeling badly shaken.



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Richard Walker

A Mondegreen from my local

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We were doing a crossword at the bar and someone said “Alarm a relative”.

I though what can that mean? I had this vision of frightening aged aunts or something like that. But the answer turned out to be “alpaca”.

For more Mondegreens visit 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen


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Richard Walker

Pompeii Genome

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I was fascinated to read that researchers have succeeded in sequencing the genome of a man from Pompeii who died in the AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius. There is a really good article at

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/26/pompeii-victim-genome-successfully-sequenced-first-time

His genome was similar to that of others living in Italy at the time but with some genes shared by people in modern Sardinia. The authors of the original part commented “Further ancient genomes from Pompeii could help to reconstruct the genetic history of an ancient Roman city frozen in time.”

That’s the fascination of Pompeii: it’s a time capsule. And this research is a new window into it.

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Richard Walker

A Memory

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I loved you more than worms can say.

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Richard Walker

Maths Riddle

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I never saw this until today, but it seems to have been going the rounds for some years and generated a lot of discussion. Googling the first phrase gets over 2 million hits.

A man buys a horse for £60 and sells it for £70. He then repurchases for £80, and sells it for £90.

Has he gained or lost, if so by how much? Or has he broken even?

Sometimes it’s a goat or a pig etc.

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Richard Walker

Seating Puzzle Solution

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Edited by Richard Walker, Wednesday, 1 Jun 2022, 20:52
https://learn1.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=246698

9 students and 9 professors attend a dinner at which they sit at a round table. The organisers wish to arrange the seating so that no one is seated between two professors. Is this possible to meet this condition?

Solution: Imagine we have found an arrangement that meets the conditions. Ask every other person to stand up, so 9 people will be standing. Then we cannot have two professors separated by only a single seated person, otherwise that person would be flanked by professors. But this means only 4 of the 9 standing persons can be professors.

However the same reasoning can be applied to the 9 people who are sitting down, so we can only accommodate 8 professors altogether, leaving one professor unaccounted for.

Consequentially no arrangement can exist that meets the given condition.

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Richard Walker

Brrrrh

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Snow and ice

Isn’t nice.

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Richard Walker

The Karma again

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At the Karma Restaurant we serve just desserts.


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Richard Walker

Please be seated

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 29 May 2022, 23:44

9 students and 9 professors attend a dinner at which they sit at a round table. The organisers wish to arrange the seating so that no one is seated between two professors. Is this possible?


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Richard Walker

The Karma

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 5 Jun 2022, 22:09





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Richard Walker

I asked for advice …

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 29 May 2022, 21:01

… and this is what I got 



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Richard Walker

One Liner🍦

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I managed to get an exclusive story about ice cream. It was a scoop.

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Richard Walker

Growing Up

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Richard Walker

My Mate Joke

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My mate was very skinny. We called him Finn.

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Richard Walker

Bar Joke

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Two herrings walked into a bar. Well, they got kippered.

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Richard Walker

The Scourge Of The Seas

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Richard Walker

A Village Sunset

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Edited by Richard Walker, Friday, 27 May 2022, 00:56


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Richard Walker

Days of the Weak

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What follows Fryday? Fatterday.


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Richard Walker

Dead Calm

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For several hours there has been almost no wind in my garden, the wind speed is effectively 0 km/h.

I think this must be quite unusual, although the Hairy Ball Theorem tells us that there must always be a point on the earth where the wind isn't blowing at any given moment.

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Richard Walker

Viral

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 22 May 2022, 23:34

I had a nasty Gold. Azure I went. So I Blue by dose.

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Richard Walker

A Cornish Sunset

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Richard Walker

Lemon stampede

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