Race the tube!

Has anyone heard of this new craze for runners?? Race the tube! It consists in beating the tube by running!!

It all started in London last July 2014, when James Heptonstall thought that going on foot could sometimes be quicker than being stuck on public transport! The route he chose was from Mansion House to Cannon Street, two important tube stations in London, 380 metres apart on foot.

As you will see on the video, the challenge consisted in getting off at Mansion House and run to the next tube station, Cannon Street, to catch the very same train! Do you think he succeeded? Check it out!

The Telegraph and many other newspapers covered the story. The video was uploaded on YouTube and received more than 5 million visits! This kickstarted the movement in many other cities!

Race the Tube in Madrid

Race the Tube in Barcelona

Race the Tube in Lyon

Race the Tube in Milan

Race the Tube in Brussels

Race the Tube in Hong Kong

Race the Tube in Stockholm

And how does our protagonist feel? Well, here you have the complete interview with the Race the Tube creator!

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Do you want a laugh?? :)

We know that English humour is not particularly famous for being funny... but we must admit that they do have a gift for playing with language!

These word plays are so common that they even have a name - puns! They play either with a word that has two meanings, or with pronunciation (that's why you have to say them aloud to get the pun!)

Here I leave you with a few. Some are a bit easier, others are a bit more difficult... but they are all hilarious!

(If there is any that you don't get, please leave a comment and ask!)

What a laugh!!

As you can see, puns are also very helpful to know different meanings of the same word, or to see how two completely different words can have a very similar pronunciation!

If you want to see more puns like this, visit The 50 Funniest Puns In the History of Funny Puns!

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Mind-blowing coincidences between Lincoln and Kennedy!

These days we've been talking about coincidences, so here I leave you with some mind-blowing similarities between Lincoln and Kennedy. You'd be surprised!!

1

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

2
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

3

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

4

Both wives lost a child while living in the White House.

5

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.

6

Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird....

7

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

8

Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

9

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

10

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

11

Both assassins were known by their three names.

12

Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat!

13

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."

14

Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."

15

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the "kicker":

16

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland.

A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

AND...................:

17

Lincoln was shot in a theater and the assassin ran to a warehouse...

Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and the assassin ran to a theater...

Creepy, huh?? 

Read more curiosities like these!

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So that's why it's called "bluetooth"!

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the bluetooth technology, but... have you ever wondered where the word comes from? Here comes an interesting story...!

As it turns out, the technology has nothing to do with being blue, or looking like a tooth! Quite on the contrary, its origins come from medieval Scandinavia!

King Harald Bluetooth was the Viking king of Denmark between 958 and 970. He christianised Denmark, and united parts of Denmark and Norway into one nation, much like the technology whose goal is to unify computers and cellular phones! They are all “uniters”!

Jim Kardach was an Intel engineer who felt that wireless communication needed some uniting. At the time he had been reading a book about Vikings that featured the reign of King Harald Bluetooth. As Jim himself explained: 

“Bluetooth was borrowed from the 10th-century, second king of Denmark, King Harald Bluetooth, who was famous for uniting Scandinavia just as we intended to unite the PC and cellular industries with a short-range wireless link."

The Bluetooth logo is actually the initials of Harald Bluetooth written in Scandinavian runes!

Interesting, huh?? :)

If you like reading curiosities like this, make sure you check "Some curiosities of the English language!" and "Mind-blowing coincidences between Lincoln and Kennedy!"

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42 Idiom Origins

If you are a "word nerd", check out the following video: the origin of 42 idioms explained in under 10 minutes!

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Curious laws in other countries

On Wednesday we had one hour with Leah and you talked about the political organisation of the United States.

I was surfing the Internet to look for information about that and I found some very curious laws! Below I post a few of them. Believe it or not, they are still in law books today, but some of them are absolutely ridiculous!!! :) - For a whole list, check this link.

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Some curiosities of the English language!

Hi there!

Today I leave you with some curiosities of the English language!

"Stewardesses"  is the longest word typed with only the left hand. 

And "lollipop" is the longest word typed with your right hand. 

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.        

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "MT".

The sentence:  "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. 

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak', and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes). 

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous":  tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order:  "abstemious" and "facetious."

"Typewriter" is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

Well, now you know (a little) more than you did before!! :)

If you like things like this, check the category curiosities in the blog!

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