What common nine letter word in the English language is still a word when each of the nine letters is removed one by one?
Take a few minutes to try and figure out what that nine letter word could be, then watch this video for the answer.
Beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set during many days of the year…
During a trip to Scandinavia in the summer of 2005, artist Isilmetriel photographed the sun through a 24 hour period. The result is the panorama shown in the picture. I’m sure you will agree, this is a stunning image.
The original can be seen at Deviant Art
The Daily Telegraph, recently ran an article on weight loss. As this subject is very dear to a lot of peoples hearts, I thought I would share it with my readers… including the links to the special offers for Telegraph readers that you are allowed to take advantage of!
Do you want to lose weight and look fantastic? Following extensive interviews with successful slimmers, we discovered the top five ways to lose weight.
1. Eat six times a day: It has been proven that regular eating will kick start your metabolism. Having three meals per day plus regular snacks can also help you lose a few pounds. By doing this, you can reduce your calorie intake and have less food cravings during the day. The main thing you need to do is plan healthy snacks in advance. If you plan your food a week in advance you can easily buy a wider variety of foods whilst shopping.
2. Fat Binders: Typically an adult will consume 40 per cent of their daily calories in the form of fat. With each gram of fat resulting in nine calories compared to four calories for carbohydrates and protein, you can see that by eating more fat you are more likely to put on weight.
Fat binders allow you to reduce your calorie intake from fat by up to 28 per cent, a massive reduction which will make your weight loss attempts a lot easier. It is important to use a fat-binder that is clinically proven and has sound medical backing.
Dr Adam Carey (ITV, Celebrity Fit Club), world famous fitness and nutrition expert suggests that the best fat binder to use is called Proactol™ (available at www.proactol.com): ‘Proactol™ can provide some initial support by binding dierary fat, decreasing food cravings, suppressing appetite and reducing blood cholesterol’.
Boxes of Proactol™ can cost from £22.14 for 120 tablets depending on package availability. Telegraph readers will receive a further £10 discount when quoting TELNY8.
Proactol™ (www.proactol.com/telegraphreaderoffer.html) is entirely organic, natural and suitable for vegetarians. It is made from dried cactus extract and is free from allergens, artificial colouring, flavours, salt, gluten and preservatives.
It is the market leader in the industry and has been clinically proven to help suppress your appetite and reduce food cravings, reduce your calorie intake and lower blood cholesterol levels. When used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise, it accelerates weight loss.
3. Good online site: Scientific studies indicate that if you have lots of support and a weight-loss buddy, you are more likely to lose weight and keep it off. Internet programmes help you sustain weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group. Look out for a website that offers routines and online support.
You can share tips, success stories or lend support to other dieters using the interactive message board. Proactol™ offers free access to weight loss resources.
4. Eat Breakfast: By eating breakfast, you are less likely to snack on sugary and fatty foods later on during the day.
The best thing to do is overcome the reasons you have about not having breakfast and make it part of your day. If you’re too busy in the morning, prepare as much as you can the night before. If you can’t stomach anything first thing try just a glass of pure, unsweetened fruit juice, a banana, yoghurt or slice of toast.
Up to 33 per cent of adults in the UK miss breakfast every morning, meaning they may miss out on important nutrients. Many breakfast foods contain significant amounts of vitamins C and D, fibre, calcium and iron.
5. Realistic exercise plan: The best way to maintain a healthy weight and take care of your body is to exercise moderately. You definitely need to be realistic in your workout or exercise regime and not be over zealous to begin with. The best way to build fitness into your life is to plan ahead and get a routine going.
It is better to aim for 20-30 minutes of exercise a day. Realistically speaking, any thing that gets you moving about and warms you up will make a difference.
Remember that exercise can help you reduce cravings for sugar, nicotine and other drugs, as well as boost your brain power and immune system.
A top tip is to do exercise with a friend or relative, as you’ll be less likely to talk yourself out of it.
One of my favourite types of TV program is the quiz show. Everything from schoolkid-type questions on “Are You Smarter Than a 10-year Old” through to tougher quizzes like “Mastermind” and “University Challenge”. Comedy quiz shows like “Have I Got News for You” and “8 Out Of 10 Cats”… I watch them all.
I don’t know if it is the fact I can test myself or that I just like shouting at the TV. One thing I have always been amazed at is the lack of general knowledge a lot of people seem to have that manage to get selected for shows that feature members of the public. As an example, here are a few answers that I found/remember.
Simply The Best (ITV)
Phil Tufnell: How many Olympic Games have been held?
Contestant: Six.
Tufnell: Higher!
Contestant: Five.
Fort Boyard (Challenge TV)
Jodie Marsh: Arrange these two groups of letters to form a word - CHED and PIT.
Team: Chedpit.
University Challenge (BBC2)
Bamber Gascoigne: What was Gandhi’s first name?
Contestant: Goosey?
Beg, Borrow or Steal (BBC2)
Jamie Theakston: Where do you think Cambridge University is?
Contestant: Geography isn’t my strong point.
Theakston: There’s a clue in the title.
Contestant: Leicester.
The Weakest Link (BBC2)
Anne Robinson: Oscar Wilde, Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Archer have all written books about their experiences in what: prison, or the Conservative Party?
Contestant: The Conservative Party.
University Challenge (BBC2)
Jeremy Paxman: What is another name for ‘cherrypickers’ and ‘cheesemongers’?
Contestant: Homosexuals.
Paxman: No. They’re regiments in the British Army who will be very upset with you.
The Weakest Link (BBC2)
Anne Robinson: In traffic, what ‘J’ is where two roads meet?
Contestant: Jool carriageway?
The Biggest Game in Town (ITV)
Steve Le Fevre: What was signed to bring World War I to an end in 1918?
Contestant: Magna Carta.
National Lottery (BBC1)
Question: What is the world’s largest continent?
Contestant: The Pacific
The Vault (ITV)
Melanie Sykes: What is the name given to the condition where the sufferer can fall asleep at any time?
Contestant: Nostalgia.
National Lottery
Eamonn Holmes: Dizzy Gillespie is famous for playing what?
Contestant: Basketball.
BBC Norfolk
Stewart White: Who had a worldwide hit with What A Wonderful World?
Contestant: I don’t know.
White: I’ll give you some clues: what do you call the part between your hand and your elbow?
Contestant: Arm.
White: Correct. And if you’re not weak, you’re…?
Contestant: Strong.
White: Correct - and what was Lord Mountbatten’s first name?
Contestant: Louis.
White: Well, there we are then. So who had a worldwide hit with the song
What A Wonderful World?
Contestant: Frank Sinatra?
Late Show (BBC Midlands)
Alex Trelinski: What is the capital of Italy?
Contestant: France.
Trelinski: France is another country. Try again.
Contestant: Oh, um, Benidorm.
Trelinski: Wrong, sorry, let’s try another question. In which country is the Parthenon?
Contestant: Sorry, I don’t know.
Trelinski: Just guess a country then.
Contestant: Paris.
Beacon Radio (Wolverhampton)
DJ Mark: For 10 Pounds, what is the nationality of the Pope?
Ruth from Rowley Regis: I think I know that one. Is it Jewish?
GWR FM (Bristol)
Presenter: What happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963?
Contestant: I don’t know, I wasn’t watching it then.
Magic 52 (Northeast England)
Presenter: In what year was President Kennedy assassinated?
Contestant: Erm . . .
Presenter: Well, let’s put it this way - he didn’t see 1964.
Contestant: 1965?
RTE Radio 2FM (Ireland)
Presenter: What is the name of the long-running TV comedy show about pensioners: Last Of The …?
Caller: Mohicans.
Phil Wood Show (BBC Radio Manchester)
Phil: What’s 11 squared?
Contestant: I don’t know.
Phil: I’ll give you a clue. It’s two ones with a two in the middle.
Contestant: Is it five?
Lincs FM Phone-In
Presenter: Which is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world?
Contestant: Barcelona.
Presenter: I was really after the name of a country.
Contestant: I’m sorry, I don’t know the names of any countries in Spain.
Radio 1 Early Morning Show
Presenter: How many toes would three people have in total?
Contestant: 23.
Notts and Crosses Quiz (BBC Radio Nottingham)
Jeff Owen: In which country is Mount Everest?
Contestant (long pause): Er, it’s not in Scotland, is it?
The Mick Girdler Show (BBC Radio Solent)
Girdler: I’m looking for an island in the Atlantic whose name includes the letter ‘e’.
Contestant: Ghana.
Girdler: No, listen. It’s an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Contestant: New Zealand.
Rock FM (Preston)
Presenter: Name a film starring Bob Hoskins that is also the name of a famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
Contestant: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
James O’Brien Show (LBC)
O’Brien: How many kings of England have been called Henry?
Contestant: Er, well, I know there was a Henry the Eighth … er . er …three?
Richard Allinson Show (Radio 2)
Allinson: What international brand shares its name with the Greek goddess of victory?
Contestant (after long deliberation): Erm, Kellogg’s?
Chris Searle Show (BBC Radio Bristol)
Searle: In which European country is Mount Etna?
Caller: Japan.
Searle: I did say which European country, so in case you didn’t hear that, I can let you try again.
Caller: Er … Mexico?
Paul Wappat (BBC Radio Newcastle)
Paul Wappat: How long did the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel last?
Contestant (after long pause): Fourteen days.
Notts and Crosses Quiz
Jeff Owen: Where did the D-Day landings take place?
Contestant (after pause): Pearl Harbor?
Daryl Denham’s Drivetime (Virgin Radio)
Daryl Denham: In which country would you spend shekels?
Contestant: Holland?
Denham: Try the next letter of the alphabet.
Contestant: Iceland? Ireland?
Denham (helpfully): It’s a bad line. Did you say Israel?
Contestant: No.
Phil Wood Show (BBC GMR)
Wood: What ‘K’ could be described as the Islamic Bible?
Contestant: Er . . .
Wood: It’s got two syllables . . . Kor . . .
Contestant: Blimey?
Wood: Ha ha ha ha, no. The past participle of run . . .
Contestant: (Silence)
Wood: OK, try it another way. Today I run, yesterday I . . .
Contestant: Walked?
Breakfast Show, Radio 1
Chris Moyles: Which ‘S’ is a kind of whale that can grow up to 80 tonnes?
Contestant: Ummm . . .
Moyles: It begins with ‘S’ and rhymes with ‘perm’.
Contestant: Shark.
Steve Wright in the Afternoon (BBC Radio 2)
Wright: Johnny Weissmuller died on this day. Which jungle-swinging character clad only in a loincloth did he play?
Contestant: Jesus.
And we Brits think Americans are stupid! It makes you wonder, sometimes, doesn’t it?