Surprisingly, the name of this bird seems to come, ultimately, via Anglo-Norman and Latin, from Ancient Greek πέρδεσθαι, perthesthai, to break wind. It’s believed to be imitative of the rapid whirring of a partridge’s wings as it takes off from the ground (if you have ever heard this sound you’ll recognise the resemblance). The word fart comes from the same root.
Personal Blogs
Partridge Etymology
Tuesday, 16 Feb 2021, 00:59
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A Quote from Albert Einstein
Monday, 15 Feb 2021, 23:56
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I found this quote today
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.”
When icicles hang by the wall
Saturday, 13 Feb 2021, 16:35
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When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail.
William Shakespeare
Photo by my brother Simon
Prince Rupert's Cube
Thursday, 11 Feb 2021, 23:28
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It seems counterintuitive that you can make a hole through a cube that will let a bigger cube pass through it. But you can.
The probem is named for Prince Rupert of Palantine (1619-1682), although he seems to have only asked about cubes of equal size. However it turns out that if the first cube has sides 1 unit long, a second cube of side just over 1.06 units can pass throught it.
The sketch below gives an indication of how this can be done.
A, B, C and D are each 1/4 the way along an edge and using Pythagoras we find AB = BC = CD = DA which is just over 1.06. If we bore a hole perpenidicular to square ABCD with ABCD as cross-section then a cube of edge 1.06 can pass through the hole in the cube of edge 1.
Interestingly the distances AB, BC, CD, and DA are also equal if we measure them along the edges of the cube. 3/4 + 3/4 = 1/4 + 1 + 1/4.
Even more amazingly other solids such as a tetrahedron have the same property. For example it's possible to pass a tetrahedron through a hole in a smaller tetrahedron.
Philosophy
Thursday, 11 Feb 2021, 01:34
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In Philosophy you’ve got to tread carefully. It’s a mind field.
Playground joke
Wednesday, 10 Feb 2021, 01:59
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Q. What would you call rice arranged in a column?
A. Pillar rice.
Tom Swifty
Wednesday, 10 Feb 2021, 00:08
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“This leg-wear once belonged to a very eminent person”, said Tom grandiosely.
One Liner
Tuesday, 9 Feb 2021, 00:53
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I find ironing clothes so tedious nowadays. I guess I’m just ironing bored.
Chemistry
Tuesday, 9 Feb 2021, 00:45
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Spring Has Sprung
Friday, 5 Feb 2021, 18:24
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Flowers in my garden
Sad News
Thursday, 4 Feb 2021, 01:46
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Sad news. The inventor of the Roulette wheel has cashed in his chips.
Tom Swifty
Thursday, 4 Feb 2021, 01:27
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“I forbid you to go to the dance contest”, said Tom strictly.
Famous Prize
Sunday, 31 Jan 2021, 02:59
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It seems the underworld have an award for the most successful attempt to influence a jury. It’s known as the nobble prize.
Reader Request
Saturday, 30 Jan 2021, 01:13
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I’ve been asked for a joke about German cheese. I’m on the Käse.
Epitaph for E
Friday, 29 Jan 2021, 23:05
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E was just an ordinary vowel really. Much like U and I.
Playground joke
Friday, 29 Jan 2021, 02:12
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What do you call it when a sheep is stopped for speeding?
A woolly pullover.
Sillygism
Friday, 29 Jan 2021, 01:46
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Edited by Richard Walker, Friday, 29 Jan 2021, 01:47
My vacuum cleaner should suck.
It doesn’t suck.
Therefore, it sucks.
One Liner
Thursday, 28 Jan 2021, 00:18
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Edited by Richard Walker, Thursday, 28 Jan 2021, 00:19
Not many people know this but the US has a heavily-guarded facility where enormous quantities of string are stored. It’s called Fort Knots.
Haiku For My Robin
Tuesday, 26 Jan 2021, 03:16
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I let my wild thoughts
Carry me off through time and space
And a robin's sweet song fetch me back.
Tom's short-term memory
Tuesday, 26 Jan 2021, 02:20
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Musical Words
Sunday, 24 Jan 2021, 23:23
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I wrote a program to search for words that contain only the letters abcdefg used as musical notes. I found 124 in the wordlist CROSSWD.TXT (courtesy of Moby Words II by Grady Ward). A bigger wordlist might find more. The 124 words appear below. What's the longest meaningful sentence you can find using only these words? If we can use proper names like 'Abe' we could have
Aged Abe deeded a faded cabbage bed.
aa
aba
abaca
abbe
abed
accede
acceded
ace
aced
ad
adage
add
added
ae
aff
aga
age
aged
agee
ba
baa
baaed
baba
babe
bacca
baccae
bad
bade
badge
badged
baff
baffed
bag
baggage
bagged
be
bead
beaded
bed
bedded
bee
beebee
beef
beefed
beg
begged
cab
cabbage
cabbaged
cad
cade
cadge
cadged
caeca
cafe
cage
caged
ceca
cede
ceded
cee
da
dab
dabbed
dace
dad
dada
daff
daffed
dag
de
dead
deaf
deb
decade
dee
deed
deeded
deface
defaced
degage
ebb
ebbed
edge
edged
ef
eff
efface
effaced
egad
egg
egged
fa
facade
face
faced
fad
fade
faded
fadge
fadged
fag
fagged
fed
fee
feed
feedbag
gab
gabbed
gad
gadded
gae
gaed
gaff
gaffe
gaffed
gag
gaga
gage
gaged
gagged
ged
gee
geed
Dad Joke
Saturday, 23 Jan 2021, 21:26
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Q. What do call a race between sea snails? A. The limpet games.
Frozen Bubbles
Saturday, 23 Jan 2021, 01:24
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Until yesterday I had no idea that you can freeze soap bubbles. But you can.
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frostedbubble2.jpg
Also check out https://www.ignant.com/2015/01/26/frozen-in-a-bubble-by-angela-kelly/
every morning is new
Friday, 22 Jan 2021, 03:08
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Edited by Richard Walker, Friday, 22 Jan 2021, 03:09
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