Odd factoids

[Drago]

The Boomtown Rats were real rats.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

The Boomtown Rats were real rats.

From Boomtown.

 

[Threevok]

The show Dancing on Ice, was developed as a punishment - for having a wife and too many daughters in the house

 

[classic33]

The only combat missions the Vulcans were used in were during the Falklands War. The aircraft were flown from Ascension Island in the Atlantic, with air-to-air refueling to cover the 3,800+ mile trip.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Fuel supplied by the Yanks btw

 

[NorthernDave]

Fuel supplied by the Yanks btw

The fuel for the raids was actually supplied by Esso, and so many Tiger Tokens were earned that the RAF are still using the glass tumblers they were exchanged for.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Jupiter has the shortest day of any of the planets in the solar system.

It turns on its axis once every 9 hours and 55 minutes. The rapid rotation flattens the planet slightly, giving it an oblate shape.

 

[classic33]

If you look a tiger in the eyes he is less likely to kill you…

Tigers prefer to hunt by ambush, so by looking a tiger in the eyes you are showing him you know he is there. Now he has lost the element of surprise, and will most likely go find something else to feast on.

 

[Drago]

The fuel for the raids was actually supplied by Esso, and so many Tiger Tokens were earned that the RAF are still using the glass tumblers they were exchanged for.

I've heard they've taken to bombing ISIS with bombs full of surplus smurfs.

 

[Tim Hall]

Awesome. Tankers refuelling tankers refuelling tankers to refuel a Vulcan so they could frighten the living bejesus out of some Argentinian conscripts.

Militarily the raids were of questionable value, but psychologically they sent the very clear message that they'd messed with the wrong people. Even for those that live, being in the receiving end of a bombing run from an aircraft designed by Beelzebub himself was not something to forget in a hurry.

There's an excellent radio play about the Op Blackbuck raids, with tales of running round the country trying to find long obsolete parts to get the refuelling systems back up and running. Ed Grundy, off of The Archers, pops up as one of the pilots.

 

[Drago]

It's true. They had to crib parts from a Vulcan in a museum for one aircraft!

 

[Tim Hall]

It's true. They had to crib parts from a Vulcan in a museum for one aircraft!

According to the play, one particular widget was doing service as an ashtray in the nco's mess, or something like that.

 

[NorthernDave]

There's an excellent radio play about the Op Blackbuck raids, with tales of running round the country trying to find long obsolete parts to get the refuelling systems back up and running. Ed Grundy, off of The Archers, pops up as one of the pilots.

There's also an excellent book about the mission.

 

[Tim Hall]

A new iMac Pro, with 64 GB RAM and 4TB SSD has 11 times as many bytes of electronic memory as the Apple II, and by "Apple II," I mean the total of all electronic memory ever installed in all six million Apple II computers ever made. (Nicked off of that Twitter)

 

[colly]

If you look a tiger in the eyes he is less likely to kill you…

Tigers prefer to hunt by ambush, so by looking a tiger in the eyes you are showing him you know he is there. Now he has lost the element of surprise, and will most likely go find something else to feast on.

If the need arises I'll let you demonstrate the veracity of that statement. If you don't mind.