New York 212

Remember the “Seinfeld” episode where Elaine tried to get her dead neighbor’s 212 phone number when she was assigned a 646?

There are now six area codes in New York City (212, 646, 718, 917, 347, 929), and another might soon be needed.

But people are still behaving like Elaine: scheming for the city’s original prefix, even subscribing to a call-forwarding service for the coveted 212, The Times reports.

See more in these

Manhattan Area Codes Multiply, but the Original, 212, Is Still Coveted
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/nyregion/as-manhattan-area-codes-multiply-some-still-covet-a-212.html?_r=0

New York Today: What Would You Do for a 212?
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/25/new-york-today-the-coveted-212/

Why was New York City’s original area code 212?http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/nyregion/answers-to-questions-about-new-york.html

Chclobirie

The practice of chclobirie (literally beating one's forehead on the ground) was adopted as part of Russian court etiquette ...

From Russia: A 1,000-Year Chronicle of the Wild East, By Martin Sixsmith

The Yorkshireman's motto

Ear all, see all, say nowt,
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt,
And if tha ivver does owt fer nowt –
do it fer thissen

from alt.usage.english

The world's deepest lock

In December 2005's Waterways World, we looked for the world's deepest lock - and found it at Oskemen, in Kazakhstan. Here's how we described it:

Oskemen is on a resurgent river route from northern China to Russia. Its rise of 40m-42m (around 138ft) is seven times the deepest on the British canal system.

See full article at http://www.waterwaysworld.com/latest.cgi?month=012008&start=20

The Narrowest Houses in the World

The 47 inch wide Wedge in Milport, on the island of Great Cumbrae in Scotland, United Kingdom

The 3.2 ft (1 m) wide by 32.8 ft (10 m) tall house of Helenita Queiroz Grave Minho with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and two other rooms in Madre de Deus, Brazil

The Gap House on an eight-foot-wide (2.5 m) site by Pitman Tozer Architects, London, 2007

The 10.4 ft (3.16 m) wide Skinny House in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts

See full list and photos at http://io9.com/these-are-the-narrowest-houses-in-the-world-960593755

Atlantic Crossing (1)

Atlantic Crossing is Rod Stewart's sixth album, released in 1975. It peaked at number one in the UK (his fifth solo album to do so), and number nine on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Crossing

 

Atlantic Crossing 1 (AC-1) is an optical submarine telecommunications cable system linking the USA and three European countries. It transports speech and data traffic between the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands and Germany.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Crossing_1

The Hat Law

THE WORLD'S first hat revolution took place in Turkey in 1925. On November 25 of that year, the parliament passed a law that made it mandatory for all men to wear Western-style hats in public places; all civil servants had to wear them, and no other type of hat would be allowed. Those who went hatless would be left alone, but if one wanted to wear a hat then one had to either wear the proposed model (and not the traditional turban or fez) or face the consequences, which could be as severe as the death penalty.

See full article at http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/turkeys-glorious-hat-revolution

The longest canal tunnel in Britain

At 3.25 miles long, Standedge is Britain's longest canal tunnel

Opened in April 1811, Standedge Tunnel is over 200 years old

Typical cargos through the tunnel included wool, coal and horse manure!

Before diesel power, boats were legged through the tunnel

See more at http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/standedge-tunnel

Standedge - disused since 1940s, re-opened in 2001, width restrictions, boat passage is escorted and must be booked

From http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/tunnels.htm

The Anchor Graveyard

This one's right up there with the Easter Island heads in terms of haunting landscapes: hundreds of massive iron anchors standing in perfect rows in the sand on an isolated Portuguese island.

Not merely the detritus of the ocean, they are the last remnants of Tavira's once thriving tuna-fishing industry – an enterprise that fed Portugal for hundreds of years.

But when the tuna dried up, the ships stopped sailing. And whenever one of them docked for the last time, they'd leave their anchor on Barril beach. After a while, there was enough that someone decided they needed to be kept in order, as if waiting for the moment when the island's lifeblood would return. Sadly, it never did.

See photos at http://www.smithjournal.com.au/blogs/adventure/the-anchor-graveyard

World's Largest Fork

As road trippers, we often come to a fork in the road and have to choose which path to take…or, we may come to a giant fork in the road and stop to take photos!

Located in the parking lot of Noble & Associates advertising agency in Springfield, Missouri, this 35-foot tall utensil is the world’s largest fork!

See photos at http://www.sillyamerica.com/blog/2012/04/worlds-largest-fork-in-springfield-missouri/

The Orient and the Occident

The Orient means the East. It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Near East or Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the continent of Asia. 

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient

 

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident, is a term referring to different nations depending on the context. There is no agreed upon definition about what all these nations have in common.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world

Quiche Lorraine

Quiche lorraine is a classic dish from the French cuisine which originally was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with smoked bacon.

Quiche actually originated in Germany in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later renamed Lorraine. 

The word quiche is from the German Kuchen meaning cake.

See full article at http://www.vahrehvah.com/indianfood/quiche-lorraine/

Duffel / Duffle

Duffel is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp.

The town gives its name to a heavy woollen cloth used to make overcoats, especially for the military, and various kinds of luggage.

Items made from this material are sometimes spelled duffle as in Duffle Coat and Duffle bag.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffel

Spurtle

Originally a flat spatula for flipping oatcakes on a griddle, the Spurtle is better known as a stick for stirring porridge.

Over time, this implement changed shape and began being used specifically for stirring oatmeal and soups.

It is similar to a wooden spoon without the bowl which was removed as it tears cooked oats apart.

It is in common use throughout Scotland.

From http://britishfood.about.com/od/glossaryconversiontable/g/Glossary.htm

The widest avenue in the world

Buenos Aires, Argentina, features the widest avenue in the world.

At over 300 feet wide, 9 de Julio Avenue occupies a gap of an entire block in the city grid, hence its incredible width.

Crossing the avenue at street level often requires a few minutes, as all intersections have traffic lights.

Under normal walking speed, it takes pedestrians normally two to three green lights to cross its twelve lanes of traffic.

See more on record-setting roads at http://weburbanist.com/2007/12/03/7-urban-wonders-of-the-world-amazing-and-record-setting-city-roads-and-streets/

bund

1. An embankment or dike, especially in India.

2. A street running along a harbour or waterway, especially in the Far East.

From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bund

Duffel / Duffle

Duffel is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp.

The town gives its name to a heavy woollen cloth used to make overcoats, especially for the military, and various kinds of luggage.

Items made from this material are sometimes spelled duffle as in Duffle Coat and Duffle bag.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duffel

The world's largest banknote

To commemorate the Centennial of Independence from more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule in 1998, the government of the Philippines wanted to do something very special.

It issued the world's largest banknote 355.6 mm by 215.9 mm (14" x 8 1/2"), beating the previous record: China Ming Dynasty 1 Kuan 220 mm x 335mm (8 3/4" x 13 1/4").

Only 1,000 of these notes were issued. Originally offered to collectors at a pre-issue price of 180,000 Piso (US$4175).

See more paper money trivia at http://tomchao.com/trivia.html

America's 10 Deadliest Jobs

1. Logging workers
2. Fishers and related fishing workers
3. Aircraft pilot and flight engineers
4. Roofers
5. Structural iron and steel workers
6. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
7. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
8. Drivers/sales workers and truck drivers
9. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
10. Construction laborers

See more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/08/22/americas-10-deadliest-jobs-2/

Types of salutes

The French salute is almost identical to the British Army's.

The customary salute in the Polish Armed Forces is the two-fingers salute, a variation of the British military salute with only two fingers extended.

In the Russian military, the right hand, palm down, is brought to the right temple, almost, but not quite, touching; the head has to be covered.

In the Swedish armed forces, the salute is identical to that of the U.S. armed forces and the British Royal Navy.

In the Hellenic Army salute the palm is facing down and the fingers point to the coat of arms.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salute