Tricky trivia

Questions:

1. Where are Panama hats made?
2. How many years did the “Hundred Years War” last?
3. What colour is the ‘black box’ in jet airplanes?
4. What was the first name of King George the sixth?
5. Which animal do we get catgut from?
6. When do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
7. What is used for the bristles of a ‘camel’s hair brush?’
8. What animal is thought to be the source of the name ‘Canary Islands?’
9. What colour are purple finches?

Answers

1. Ecuador — Panama hats have always been made in Ecuador, from the leaves of the panama-hat palm. The origin of the name is uncertain, but made popular when Teddy Roosevelt wore it while visiting Panama Canal.

2. 116 years — it was a conflict between England and France, from 1337 to 1453.

3. Orange — the term ‘black box’ means a device that is viewed primarily in terms of its input and output characteristics (you can’t see inside it). It is orange in colour to make it easier to find after a crash.

4. Albert — (Albert Frederick Arthur George), he was king of the United Kingdom (1936- 1952), the last Emperor of India until 1947, and the last King of Ireland until 1949.

5. Horses and sheep — a tough cord used for musical strings, surgical stitching and more, it has never been made from cats. The intestines of horses, sheep, goats, mules, pigs and donkeys have been used.

6. November — it refers to the events of late October 1917, but the anniversary of the October Revolution is November 7, and was an official holiday in the Soviet Union. This is due to the different calendars used at the time. The Julian calendar was still used in Russia but western countries used the Gregorian calendar, which was later adopted by the Soviet Union.

7. Squirrel hair — the hair of goats, ponies, bears and sheep are also used, alone or in combinations. Hair from camels is considered too woolly for brushes and is never used.

8. Dog — Insula Canaria, a Latin name meaning Island of the Dogs, was applied originally to the island of Gran Canaria. Apparently, there were wild dogs that populated many of the islands when they were first visited by ancient Romans.

9. Red and brown — males (adult) are normally red on the head, breast and back. Females are light brown above, white below and with dark brown streaks throughout.

If you got even three of these tricky trivia questions right, you are doing better than most. If you got seven or more correct, consider yourself a trivia genius.

Word buzz: Easy-to-use idioms

Etched in stone: Things, particularly rules, which cannot be changed under any circumstances.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day: Used to refer to people becoming lucky by chance.

Even keel: When something is on an even keel, it is balanced.

Every dog has its day: Everyone gets their moment of glory and success.

Every man for himself: When people try to take care of themselves in a difficult situation but they don’t help others.

Every man has his price: Everyone’s support can be bought at a certain price or if one is ready to pay them enough.

Every trick in the book: In all possible ways, even dishonest ones.

Everything but the kitchen sink: It means everything is included, even if not all of it is useful.

Exception that proves the rule: An exception in some way confirms a rule.

Explore all avenues: To try all possible ways to get the desired result.

Eye candy: An attractive person.

Eyewash: Actions or remarks intended to conceal the facts of a situation.

Eye-opener: Surprising and unexpected event that brings out the truth about something or someone.

Face like thunder: To be very angry and upset.

Face only a mother could love: To be ugly.

Face the music: To accept and face the unpleasant consequence or result of something.

Face value: The appearance of something/someone, and when one takes something at face value, it means it is being accepted for what it appears to be rather than its inner characteristics.

Face your demons: To face and accept one’s fears or things that one has been trying hard to avoid.

Failure is the mother of success: It is only after a failure that we strive towards success.

Fair and square: To win this way is to win by following the rules properly and winning conclusively.

Fair weather friend: Friends who are only around in good times.

Fall by the wayside: To remain incomplete.

Fall from grace: To be disgraced or to lose favour with someone.

Fall on your sword: To resign and accept the consequences of some wrongdoing. In olden days when warriors lost in a battle, they preferred to kill themselves by their own swords rather than be captured by the enemy.

Familiarity breeds contempt: On getting to know someone or something too well, you also get to know their faults and start disliking them.

Far cry from: A thing that is very different from something, e.g. “The game he played today was a far cry from his best performance.”

REAL COOL SIGNS...............lolz

Not a Smart Decision by This School

Probably not the smartest performer to have at a Middle School Event. Imagine the hormones goin through those students! I would hate the be the teacher that has them next hour!

The kids even have their cameras out and I-Phones. Hilarious! Wonder if someone got fired over that one!

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Managing dyke repairs before Kharif season

THE cash-strapped Sindh government has not been able to fully restore damaged irrigation network despite passage of almost six months since the devastating floods hit the province last year.

Irrigation experts are worried that if the damaged river embankments are not rehabilitated and breaches plugged before the coming monsoon season in June, the problem may worsen.

The federal government has agreed to release Rs2.5 billion on an urgent basis.

A senior official in the provincial irrigation department, meanwhile, told this scribe that the Sindh government had released a sum of Rs2 billion from its own resources to re-start the rehabilitation work. The work would gear up once the promised funds start flowing in from the federal government.

The provincial irrigation secretary Rafique Memon said that he had already told the meeting of the Federal Ministry for Inter-provincial Coordination held in Islamabad few weeks back that Sindh urgently needed Rs8 billion for repairing river dykes.

He warned of far-reaching implications on the province’s agricultural economy, if the required funds were not released before mid-February.

Irrigation officials said the Sindh government was now waiting for immediate release of Rs5 billion for rehabilitation of dykes and canals to their original shape for its Kharif sowing.

If the provincial government will not manage the daunting task of rehabilitation in a short span of three months, the Kharif sowing that starts from April 15, will suffer.

“The Sindh government is very much aware of the dangers the broken river dykes and breaches pose to the provincial economy, but it is handicapped by the financial constraints,” said a senior official in the department.

After approval of the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP), the provincial government had submitted 76 schemes worth Rs16 billion to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for its approval. But, only Rs14 billion were approved in the CDWP meeting held on January 22 for implementation of 64 schemes of urgent nature.

After the modus operandi for the release of the funds was being considered by the ECNEC, the federal government announced on February 2 to give Rs5 billion for priority projects .

Officials in the provincial irrigation department said that undue delay in the release of the approved amount of Rs5 billion was further delaying the rehabilitation work.

Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo said Tori Bund and Kot Almo breaches were not plugged with conventional irrigation department methods. These were plugged initially on emergency basis by stone-dumping to halt floodwater flow from there.

He also said that these breaches were still open and efforts were yet to be made to plug them properly. But it was not possible until the centre released the approved funds.

According to reports quoting official sources, around 1,946 breaches out of a total of 2,515 that occurred in different waterways, had been plugged at a cost of Rs1 billion.

Irrigation expert Idris Rajput said that floodwater enters Sindh in June. Therefore, rehabilitation of dykes and plugging of breaches should be completed before it, or else, the province would face yet another devastation.

The provincial chief minister has issued orders to the irrigation department to immediately kick off the strengthening of all damaged embankments and plugging of breaches by May this year. For, which he has released Rs2 billion from province’s own resources.

Irrigation experts doubt whether the hefty amount of Rs5 billion, released in installments by the centre to the provincial government, would be utilised efficiently and in a transparent manner.

“There is also a deep suspicion in the federal government about the Sindh government’s inability to efficiently utilise Rs5 billion before May this year for the quality rehabilitation work,” said Fazullah Qureshi, a former federal secretary planning and development.

Conceding to such doubts, he said that spending such a huge amount in a span of just three months was really a great challenge for the irrigation department in view of lack of capacity and efficiency.

He suggested: “If the government wants to restore the irrigation network in such a short span of time with transparent utilisation of funds following release of more funds by the federation, then it should first start plugging all breaches immediately and simultaneously, launch dykes repairing and strengthening work on them.”

He said that the government’s top priority should be quality work on the damaged irrigation network, with focus on monitoring of the rehabilitation work. Otherwise, the next possible flood would sweep away the irrigation system again and cause more massive damages than it caused last year.

Riddles: What am I?

No legs have I to dance,
No lungs have I to breathe,
No life have I to live or die
And yet I do all three.
What am I?
Answer:
I am a fire.

*******
I have three letters, and I read the same forward and backwards. I rhyme with a word that is important to everyone. What word am I?
Answer:
Eye (rhymes with ‘I’.)

*******
With pointed fangs it sits in wait,
With piercing force its doles out fate,
Over bloodless victims proclaiming its might,
Eternally joining in a single bite.
What am I?
Answer:
A stapler

*******
A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
What is it?
Answer:
An egg

*******
I walk on,
Four legs in the beginning,
Two legs in the middle,
Three legs in the end.
What am I?
Answer:
Man — four legs as a baby, two legs as an adult, three legs as an elderly with a cane.

Drinking tea harms health?

THIS is with reference to a TV commercial urging children to drink tea. The advertisement hints that tea is good for health and young children. I would like to draw readers’ attention to potential drawbacks and effects of tea on our health.

All tea leaves contain fluoride; however, mature leaves contain as much as 10 to 20 times the fluoride levels of young leaves from the same plant. High fluoride intake (daily intakes over 2mg for children, 4mg adults) increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

Also caffeine is an addictive drug and overuse of tea may result in harmful side effects, such as an increased likelihood of certain sleep disorders. Moreover, tea contains oxalate, over consumption of which can cause kidney stones, as well as binding with free calcium in the body; other minerals may be bound as well. It has been suggested that chemicals known as tannins may increase one’s risk of esophageal cancer, with some studies having found that tea drinking may in fact be negatively associated with risk of oesophageal cancer.

Also, hot tea consumption has been linked to a higher risk for oesophageal cancer. There is a potential effect of milk on tea as well. A study at the Charité Hospital of the Berlin University showed that adding milk to tea will block the normal, healthful effects that tea has in protecting against cardiovascular disease. This occurs because casein from the milk binds to the molecules in tea that cause the arteries to relax, especially EGCG.