Quizzes, Myths And Education

Blog: Norfolk Single Dad
Posted by: Eddie2sox Monday 26th February 2007, 10:55am
Last edited 26/02/2007 10:55am by Eddie2sox

Quiz goes well, busting a myth, and educating Sam!

Woolpack Quiz Night

This went really well last night, competition was fierce, banter was fiercer, and a good time was had by all. Plus we made a tiny bit of money for our charity, which will add up over the year. For the first time at The Woolie the scores were tied at the end, meaning the Tie Breaker was actually needed......it's always a numerical question and the team guessing closest to the right answer wins. Last night, with scores level at 38 apiece, The Four Twots (I know.......) won through, guessing that the percentage of people living in Lithuania who are actually Lithuanian was 78%. The Good Losers went for 100%, miles away from the correct figure of 80%.

Next quiz is Sunday 25 March, kick off 8.30pm. Great conversation afterwards about the TV programme Myth Busters, where two American geeks try to disprove commonly misheld beliefs, such as that a sinking ship sucks it's crew and passengers down after it, and that goldfish have no memory. Co-incidentally, yesterday I received an email that busted a myth too.........

9/11 Myth - Busted!

Did anyone else, a few years ago, receive an email that was doing the rounds, that read like this:

"This is something to think about! Since America is typically represented by an eagle. Saddam should have read up on his Muslim passages... The following verse is from the Quran, (the Islamic Bible) Quran (9:11) -- For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace. Note the verse number!!!!!"

Yesterday I got a forwarded email that said:

"Our crack team of scientists searched multiple online databases which contain the Quran in it's entirety.

The word "eagle" does not appear anywhere in the Quran, the Koran or even the Quarahnne

Our scientists then went to google.com and typed in "online quran" to locate an online copy of the book. Here is the actual Chapter 9, verse 11 of the Quran

009.011

YUSUFALI: But (even so), if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practice regular charity,- they are your brethren in Faith: (thus) do We explain the Signs in detail, for those who understand.

PICKTHAL: But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then are they your brethren in religion. We detail Our revelations for a people who have knowledge.

SHAKIR: But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith; and We make the communications clear for a people who know."

Myth Busted!

Educating Sam

As a dad, one of my jobs is the education of my son, Sam. Not just sums and seasons, but life skills, manners, and "useful" stuff too. I thought I'd just make a note of a few things Sam has been learning recently, some are educational, some are just things that will make him a better person.

Spires & Domes: We spent half an hour wandering round town looking upwards, and learning that the pointy bits on top of buildings are called spires, and the round bits are called domes. Sam pointed out the dome on top of the cinema and the THREE spires on top of St John's church in The Walks.

One Louder: In the car Sam loves listening to music, and often asks for it to be louder. I limit the volume to 11 on the CD player. It used to be 10, but then I agreed to "one louder". Sam now understands that "one louder" is the very loudest that anything can be - exactly in the same way that Spinal Tap's amps went up to 11 (see quote from the film). It's the kind of thing all boys ought to know:

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [long pause] These go to eleven.

Accelerator Brake Clutch: An invaluable start to his driving education. Sam can name 99% of the items inside our car, and we recently moved down to the pedals. Not only does he now know what the accelerator and brake do (clutch is slightly trickier), but he made the ABC connection with the alphabet all by himself.

Sausages: In another effort to immerse Sam in popular culture, I described to him how, long long ago, on a TV programme called That's Life, there was a dog that could say "sausages"...like this...."sau.......sa....ges....." Sam has now added this impressive impersonation to his repertoire (Victor Meldrew is his best), and may well be driving his mummy mad with it.

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