News Round Up
by Patrick O’Connor
THE game of pooh sticks – which involves participants dropping sticks over one side of a bridge and walking over to the other side to see which one appears first – appeared in the classic children’s story The House at Pooh Corner by A A Milne in 1928.
And now, says the Daily Mail, a scientist claims the found the formula for the perfect stick.
And now, says the Daily Mail, a scientist claims the found the formula for the perfect stick.
Dr Rhys Morgan, from the Royal Academy of Engineering, says the stick should be as thick, dense and rough as possible as this increases the drag, which means the water will have greater influence on the stick, thus carrying it away more quickly. It will also sink sufficiently below the surface, where the fastest part of the stream lies.
Dr Morgan says he has spent hours playing the game and says he has now come up with his formula which will give players a competitive edge.
According to Dr Morgan, the main variables are the stick’s cross-sectional area (A), which affects the amount of stick in contact with the water, its density/buoyancy (?), and the drag coefficient (Cd), giving the formula: PP = A x ? x Cd.. So now you know.
Five year old Harry Bateman, from Street, Somerset collected a strange accolade – for having the messiest bedroom in Britain!
And, says the Daily Star, he admitted he keeps it that way – cluttered with toys, pillows, boxes and junk – to earn extra pocket money for tidying it up.
His parents, Will and Emma, entered Harry into bed retailer Time4sleep’s competition in a bid to clean it up once and for all and now he has won a £500 storage bed.
Emma commented : “His room has always been a complete tip. His logic is that he gets his pocket money for tidying his room, so it needs to be really messy so he can tidy it up and get paid.”
According to a survey carried out by LateRooms.com 34,000 Bibles are stolen from hotels every year, along with toiletries, light bulbs, towels and TV remotes.
A Daily Mail article said that hotel guests also took plants, bathmats and whole duvet covers.
A pair of luxury apartment blocks in London are to be linked by a glass swimming pool suspended more than 100 feet above the ground.
The Daily Express reports that Embassy Gardens is a new Thames-side development in Battersea – next to the famous power station – which is made up of about 2,000 homes. The 25 metre long pool will be completely transparent and entirely free of any support.
Most British dog lovers have declared the Labrador retriever as their top choice. The Daily Express reports on a poll carried out for Frontline Spot On flea and tick protection which showed that the the dog is the favourite breed across England, Ireland and Scotland, with only the Welsh preferring the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
The Daily Mirror informs us that 1,000 new words have been added to OxfordDictionaries.com which reflect evolving cultural, political and social norms.
They include hangry (angry due to hunger), manspreading (encroaching on a neighbouring seat) and rando (a stranger acting oddly).
The online dictionary also features snackable (an easy read) and mkay (OK) dictionary after gaining widespread use.
Editor Fiona McPherson commented: “It’s not about dumbing down, it’s more creative ways people are using language.”
Reference list:
The Express (www.express.co.uk)
Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
Daily Mirror (www.mirror.co.uk)
Daily Star (www.daily star.co.uk)