Admit your ignorance - things you've only just realised/learned

[Joey Shabadoo]

I presume he played the part of Nothing, the talentless oaf.

 

[matticus]

Sadly the practice, if it is still carried out, appears to be purely ceremonial these days.
It does, however, raise a couple of questions:
1. Wouldn't a sledgehammer provide more accurate results?

As in the old joke that ends with:
"Are you sure he's dead Sir? "
" ....
I am now."

 

[Badger_Boom]

Sadly the practice, if it is still carried out, appears to be purely ceremonial these days.
It does, however, raise a couple of questions:
1. Wouldn't a sledgehammer provide more accurate results?
2. What happened that specifically required hitting someone with a hammer to find out if they were dead?

Probably skullduggery, simlar to that allegedly requiring introduction of a k n acker inspection chair after the reign of Pope Joan in the 11th century.

 

[palinurus]

Midge Ure was briefly a member of Thin Lizzy.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

My mother doesn’t know who Superman is. Never seen any of the films never seen him in cartoon form.

 

[ColinJ]

I was researching towns and villages in Devon when I read about a local slave trade, which I had been completely unaware of.

I'm not talking about horrible English thugs going to Africa and taking slaves... Apparently Barbary pirates sailed up to villages on the Devon and Cornish coasts and kidnapped people to sell as slaves in Africa!

 

[wiggydiggy]

I was researching towns and villages in Devon when I read about a local slave trade, which I had been completely unaware of.

I'm not talking about horrible English thugs going to Africa and taking slaves... Apparently Barbary pirates sailed up to coastal villages on the Devon and Cornish coasts and kidnapped people to sell as slaves in Africa!

Interesting, a little rabbit hole that leads to this man https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ward whose supposedly one of the inspirations for Jack Sparrow.

 

[Chris S]

Sweet potatos aren't actually potatos. They belong to the bindweed family, unlike potatos which belong to the same family as deadly nightshade.

 

[Chris S]

I was researching towns and villages in Devon when I read about a local slave trade, which I had been completely unaware of.

I'm not talking about horrible English thugs going to Africa and taking slaves... Apparently Barbary pirates sailed up to villages on the Devon and Cornish coasts and kidnapped people to sell as slaves in Africa!

That's probably why some Moroccans still have fair skin, blue eyes and blonde or ginger hair.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

'Scuba' is an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

 

[matticus]

'Scuba' is an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

Thanks! I'd always thought it was the Italian TV version of Scooby-Doo ...

 

[ColinJ]

Sheep can get stuck upside down, and so need help to turn back the right way up!

 

[ColinJ]

Actually, I was just reading more about 'cast' sheep. That does sound like a really nasty problem for them. Their wet fleeces can make up 25% of their body weight and pin them down in that position. They can then either suffocate or be vulnerable to attack by crows or other animals.

I have never seen a sheep distressed like that but would know what to do now if I ever do.

I rescued a sheep from a muddy Scottish burn once. That took all my strength so I am not surprised that the sheep couldn't manage to free itself.

On another MTB ride I spotted a lamb stuck between a wire fence and a broken down dry stone wall. I dismounted and rescued it. Its grateful mother thanked me by headbutting me!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Sheep can be pretty stupid. If they get caught in brambles they can die, even though they could extricate themselves if they put a bit of effort into it. Years ago my mum demonstrated this to me, by going into a field where there was such a stuck sheep and clapping her hands at it. Daft sheep thought "I was quite happily starving to death in these brambles, and that mad woman comes annoying me. Oh well, I suppose I'd better free myself". Which it did. (My mum had a very low opinion of the owner of these particular sheep which were very manky and not looked after very well).

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Sheep can get stuck upside down, and so need help to turn back the right way up!

I righted a pregnant one a few years ago, wasn't too hard to roll it over. Mentioned it to my milkman and he says sometimes pregnant cows get in that position and when they do it's a tractor out job to winch them over!