Personal Blogs

A last-minute joke?

Jest in time!!

Knock knock!

    Who’s there?

Lennie.

    Lennie who?

Lennie snow, Lennie snow, Lennie snow!

One of our team of highly talented Elves recently composed this rib-tickling Motto.

Here's an optical effect that I've always found interesting. Consider the picture below. You see a central cross set against a blurry background pattern of pastel colours.

Focus on the cross. Do not let your eyes wander, however tempting it is to do so. It may take up to 30 seconds but then you will probably see the background dissolve and only the central cross stay visible.

If you let your eyes move, the background springs back into view.

If you don’t notice any fading, focus a bit longer on the cross, and also try closing one eye, or unfocussing, while still fixating on the cross. Varying the distance from the screen, or enlarging the image, may also help.

This effect is Troxler fading (sometimes Cheshire cat illusion). It was described first in 1804 by this pioneer of ophthalmology.

Q. What novel contains the lines “It is a fur, fur better thing that I do now”?

A. A tail of two kitties.

I was wondering why my footwear kept ordering me about. Turns out they're bossy boots.

id love to marry you

and be nagged

Q. Why did the chicken cross the library?  

A. Book book book.

This is the opening of a book. What is unusual about this passage?

Today, by radio, and also on giant hoardings, a rabbi, an admiral notorious for his links to Masonry, a trio of cardinals, a trio, too, of insignificant politicians (bought and paid for by a rich and corrupt Anglo-Canadian banking corporation), inform us all of how our country now risks dying of starvation.

I opened a shop selling pet snails. But business was very slow.