Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2011

yes, that is the internet

This so popular dial-up sound until the end of the 90’s, was once part of the lifestyle of many people around the world. Sadly though, the newer generation will never hear it. Go on, hit that PLAY button. Technorati Tags: the sound of the internet , the phone and the internet , dialup internet , age before the broadband , internet before dsl , shrieking creaking modem , modulator demodulator , dialup audio , internet in history , modem

internet data usage: 2011

Ever wondered the amount of Internet data you upload and download through your ISP? With just a 384 kbps connection plan, here is a chart I created for my Internet data usage in 2011. What is your annual usage? Technorati Tags: internet data usage , annual bandwidth , small connections long hours , worldlink , isp data exchange , internet service provider charts , 2011 internet data , monthly internet data , data used in one year , beautiful internet charts

mission impossible: ghost protocol

Ethan Hunt is on a rolling run this time. Having falsely regarded as the bomber of Kremlin in Moscow, Ethan is in danger of being labeled a terrorist. His only chance is to prove himself otherwise – with bare minimum resources, and a very few friends. His adventures begin in Russia, moving on to Dubai and India, and back to the United States, that contains hair-raising action sequence. For instance, a head-on chase of a certain individual in a sandstorm in Dubai, and a jump-off from Burj Khalifa. The examples are unending; but after many realistic and spectacular action sequences, he might still be too late to stop a disaster. Technorati Tags: brad bird , tom cruise , mi4 , mission impossible 4 , ethan hunt , paula patton , burj khalifa , adventure movie , ghost protocol , mission impossible

internet data usage: 2010

Ever wondered the amount of Internet data you upload and download through your ISP? With just a 384 kbps connection plan, here is a chart I created for my Internet data usage in 2010. What is your annual usage? Technorati Tags: internet data usage , annual bandwidth , small connections long hours , worldlink , isp data exchange , internet service provider charts , 2010 internet data , monthly internet data , data used in one year , beautiful internet charts

the adventures of tintin

I have been a fan of Tintin since childhood, but then who isn’t? And then I watched Tintin today, done by Spielberg. I was not exactly impressed. The story opens steady – it is like the director trying to freshen up in the viewers’ mind, the looks of characters from the comics, a job very well done. Then again it moves forwards to introduce Tintin, the faithful Snowy, the ship Unicorn, Thomson & Thompson and of course Captain Haddock. Daniel Craig voices Sakharine, the main villain of the film. Captain Archibald Haddock (and also his ancestor Sir Francis Haddock) is enacted and voiced by the brilliant Andy Serkis (aka Gollum and King Kong). Tintin himself is portrayed by Jamie Bell, a promising young actor. This movie is of course 3D; with better experience as compared to other concurrent ones. Well done! Given that this story is done out of three comic books (The Secret of the Unicorn, Red Rackham’s Treasure and The Crab with the Golden Claws), it is a nicely done plot, with a ...

the advent of wireless electricity

Qi, according to ancient Chinese philosophy of medicine, is the energy that flows throughout, in and around us. Qi is what is responsible for all things alive. Now, building around this philosophy, the Wireless Power Consortium has done some remarkable research into inductive charging behaviour. Unlike traditional conductive charging, that makes use of wires, this new technology is able to generate electricity without the use of wires. As a result, devices can be charged wirelessly. Here’s how it works, basically: There two coils, a transmitter coil and a receiver coil. An alternating current in the transmitter coil generates a magnetic field which induces a voltage in the receiver coil. This new technology is at the present, targeted towards low-powered devices, such as mobile phones, that require less than or equal to 5 Watts. But further research into inductive charging is able to produce as close as 120 Watts. Wireless Powerless Consortium has in its alliance, leading consumer ...

speaking of bruce almighty

Bruce Nolan is a small-time TV reporter with some big-time expectations. When things begin to go against his expectations in his career, he sees his life rolling down a hill. And there’s no sign of him trying to stop or to get his life back on track. Thus, with great inner force he accuses God as the primary reason of his downfall. He complains to him, he calls him names, and on one occasion he calls him a mean Mighty Smiter. And thus God appears. Dressed as Morgan Freeman, he summons Bruce to his office, and bestows all his powers upon Bruce. He also gives Bruce a very good tip, “that’s the beauty of things: no matter how dirty they get, you can always clean them up”. God is happy, and Bruce is happy – but there is only one catch. Bruce can enjoy all powers, but meanwhile he is required to carry out the responsibilities of God. Can he do it? Can Bruce solve all the problems of the world? Or does he realize that being a God is not as easy as it seems; after all; with great power come...

seven blunders of the world

Mohandas Gandhi's list of Seven Blunders of the World that lead to violence was described in the Christian Science Monitor February 1, 1995 (p.14). In his final years, ...the elder Gandhi kept his grandson close at hand and set aside an hour every day to be alone with the boy. I like the image of a gifted world leader devoting so much time to a young person, affirming the fundamental human urge to connect to future generations to teach and, perhaps, to learn. On their final day together, not too long before his assassination, Gandhi gave this important list to his grandson Arun Gandhi. Here is Gandhi's list, including an 8th 'blunder' added by Arun Gandhi. via . Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Knowledge without character Commerce without morality Science without humanity Worship without sacrifice Politics without principle Rights without responsibilities [Arun Gandhi] Technorati Tags: seven blunders of the world , wealth and work , pleasure a...

some very common abbreviations

Here are some very common abbreviations. More often than not, we do not stop to think what they mean. AD – A nno D omini – used to mark time that comes after the commonly accepted beginning of the Christian era. Usage: The ancient city was founded in 125 AD. AI – A rtificial I ntelligence – used for robots, etc. Usage: Several professors at our university have been researching AI for many years. aka – A lso K nown A s. Usage: We went to see James Smith aka The Bulldozer wrestle. AM – A nte M eridiem – the Latin word which means before noon. Usage: I always get up at 7:00 AM. DIY – D o- I t- Y ourself Usage: I went to a DIY store and bought the materials to build a bed. DNA – D eoxyribo N ucleic A cid – the main constituent of the chromosomes of all organisms. Usage: My university has spent a lot of money in the study of DNA. e.g. – E xempli G ratia – the Latin which means for example. Usage: The company has many factories around the world - e.g. Italy, Mexico, and Korea....

effective fake identity generator

Here’s one, a fake identity generator. It lets you select your name set, such as a Hobbit name, a Finnish name, a Japanese name or whatever you select. Additionally, it lets you select your country. For example, I selected a Hobbit name set with Australia as my country. Further, I selected my gender as 100 % male and age 30 years. After that when I hit the Generate button, it provided my fake identity as follows: Bodo Brownlock 38 Baker Street Green Valley WA 6330 Phone:(08) 9069 3632 Mother's Maiden name: Tûk Occupation:Ticket agent Company:Hit or Miss Weight:203.5 pounds (92.5 kilograms) Height:5' 9" (175 centimetres) What more, it also generates a QR code based on the fake information. Mine looked like this. Go on now, generate as many identities that you like, on this fake identity generator . Just don’t forget to save your QR codes; they look awesome. And while you’re at it, take a look at this . Technorati Tags: fake name generator , fake identity generator , ...

is hell exothermic

I do not know who originally wrote this but it is a classic. A thermodynamics professor had written a take-home exam for his graduate students. It had one question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Support your answer with a proof. Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So, we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these reli...

short but funny jokes

Here’s a collection of three jokes, sitting idly inside a notepad file for ages in my desktop. They’re indeed hilarious. A Saudi Prince went to Germany to study. A month later, he sends a letter to his dad saying, "Berlin is wonderful, people are nice and I really like it here, but I'm a bit ashamed to arrive to school with my gold Mercedes when all my teachers travel by train." Sometime later he gets a letter from his dad with a ten million dollar check saying, "Stop embarrassing us, go and get yourself a train too!" Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want". The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice, The clothes probably wouldn't ...

nepalese history in facebook

Just imagine what it would be like, if Facebook was there in the past. Here’s an imaginary series of events in the history of Nepal, expressed through Facebook; for the lighter side of life. Enjoy. Technorati Tags: facebook fun , nepalese history in facebook , nepal history facebook , history is fun , history is interesting , old days modern ways , old is gold , historical nepal , nepal fun topics , key figures in nepal , ram shah , chandra samsher , jang bahadur , narayan gopal , siddhicharan shrestha , prithivi narayan shah , nepalese democracy , bal krishna sama , history of nepal

yet another super alphabet

A really creative Neil Cameron at his site, has created one of the most badass alphabets ever. We are thankful that they don’t teach this one to kids at school. But if they did, just imagine how many PhD’s would come up as experts on Buffy, Edna, Gundam, Hager, Joss and the rest. So without further ado, here are some highlights of the alphabet: A is for Aztecs in Atomic Armour Attacking Anomalous Amphibians B is for Buffy Bravely Battling Beelzebub D is for Doctor Who Defeating Doctor Doom in a Deadly Disco Dance-Off F is for The Fantastic Four saving the Finnish ambassador From Fred Flintstone, who's Flinging Flaming Fajitas at his Ford Fiesta G is for Galactus Geeking out with his Glove puppets of Gundam and Godzilla H is for Hagar the Horrible Hacking Hello Kitty in Half I is for Indiana Jones Inching away from an Inebriated Ironman J is for Joss. Just Joss. The full alphabet is on this page, given as a very good illustration. Technorati Tags: badass alphabet , yet an...

offshore wind-lens generates mega-energy

Forget about traditional tri-blade wind turbines — the ultra-efficient turbine of the future might look completely different if Kyushu University professor Yuji Ohya has anything to say about it. Ohya and his team recently unveiled the Wind Lens, a honeycomb-like structure that purportedly triples the amount of wind energy that can be produced by offshore turbines. The Wind Lens was unveiled at Yokohama Renewable Energy International Exhibition 2010. The structure works similarly to a magnifying glass that intensifies light from the sun — except in this case, the lens intensifies wind flow. Ohya’s design doesn’t have too many moving parts — just a hoop (AKA a brimmed diffuser) that “magnifies” wind power, and a turbine that is rotated by wind captured from the hoop. Each Lens, which measures 112 meters in diameter, can provide enough energy for an average household. Ohya doesn’t know if the Lens will go into commercial production, but if nothing else, it could provide a more aesthe...

quickly convert multimedia files online

Of course you have many tools and software to convert files from one format to another. In fact you convert files according to your need. Sometimes you are in a hurry to convert that movie file into a format that your mobile understands. At other times, you might be searching the Internet for a good and decent conversion programs. In any case, well, waste no more time; look no further. Online Convert is probably the best and the quickest option for you. In a couple of easy steps, get your file converted. Just select the file you want to convert and upload it. In a moment (depending on the size of your file), your file will be converted, and you will be prompted to save your converted file to your computer. That’s it. That’s probably the quickest (and of course, free) method to convert your multimedia file formats. In case you were wondering, the site supports not just multimedia file, but a variety of documents, e-books and other file types. Technorati Tags: online conversion , mult...

hitman leon, aka the professional

Leon is a loner. He is a hitman with only one passion – a passion for his job. Therefore he trains himself well, keeps his senses alert, loves his weapons and makes no mistakes. He is simply the best hitman in town. One day when he sees the entire family of his neighbour murdered in cold blood over a matter of cocaine information, he has but no choice to welcome to his life the sole survivor of the family, a twelve-year old girl. Matilda, an extra-ordinary girl with a fierce appetite for revenge of the murder, is ready to take on any job from hitman Leon. She even demands to become his apprentice. But he has nothing to offer to Matilda. So where does the story go? In an interesting plot by Luc Besson, viewers are once again charmed by his flair for creative story-telling. Hitman Jean Reno is bold, the turns in the narrative are steep, the actions are credible and Natalie Portman is superb in her first ever silver-screen appearance in Leon. Technorati Tags: leon the professional , 199...

transformers: dark of the moon

Once again Michael Bay along with his crew is successful in walking away with kudos with their performance in Transformers III. With fast-paced visuals and equally fast story, this time in 3D, the citizens of Cybertron seem a bit real and lifelike, as compared to the prequels, that is. On this hair-raising episode, the Decepticons have a larger and more deceptive plans that leave the Autobots fighting on the edge of the knife. One little mistake, and beloved Earth is doomed forever. In fact the Decepticons are trying to transport their entire planet of Cybertron in place of the physical space occupied by Earth. Will Sam once again be able to act on the nick of time, thereby helping to evade earthly doom? It remains to be seen; and it remains to be seen whether the makers of Transformers III will walk away with the Oscars as well. Technorati Tags: michael bay , shia labeoufa , rosie huntington-whiteley , ehren kruger , hasbro entertainment , action sci-fi , autobots , decepticons , ...

an automatic complaint-generator

Parts of what follows below were actually painful to write. However, because of the on-going misinformation campaigns launched by Mr Manish Adhockery and his apostles I feel it is my duty to write this. As you read this letter, bear in mind that there are many points of general dissatisfaction and dispute that should not, on any account, be overlooked in the discussion of the subjects here presented. One of these is that if Manish can overawe and befuddle a sufficient number of prominent individuals then it will become virtually impossible for anyone to defy Manish . He's like an evil genius except without the "genius" part, and deep down in our bones, we all know why. There is one final irony to my story. It is legitimate to have misgivings about lethargic worrywarts who provoke terrible, total, universal, and merciless destruction. The above paragraph was not written by me – it was generated using an automatic complaint-letter generator on this site. It lets you gen...

i, robot with will smith

Sunny is smart, clever and unique. He has extreme love and dedication towards his father. He feels belonged when spoken to kindly, and feels angry when posed with unnecessary questions repeatedly. It makes his feel irritated. Sunny is not a child; he is a robot. He feels he is unique. When Chicago detective Spooner begins the investigation of the death of Alfred Lanning, Sunny is brought into the case as a major suspect. He tries to run away from the police, but Spooner plays tough on him. After all, Lanning is not just another dead guy – he is the biggest name in robotics, and the founder of USR, one of the most powerful companies on the planet. Besides, Lanning means a world to Spooner himself. Dr. Lanning made Sunny unique – in function and capability. He created a robot that could dream. He created a robot that is one step up the robo lutionary ladder. Why? Why would Lanning create a marvel of robotics and then die by the most baffling means ever? I, Robot is one of a kind of a ...

pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides

Captain Jack Sparrow does not have a ship this time; neither does he have a crew. Wanted by the authorities of Spain and England, he is forced aboard Captain Blackbeard's ship whose First Mate is one of his old flames, Angelica. Set sail to find the Fountain of Youth, or Aqua da Vida, per se, Captain Blackbeard does not know that the Spaniards and the English are after it as well. In an adventure full of wit, thrill, frill and humour, does Jack make it to the fountain? In an adventure made exhilarating by the presence of zombies and mermaids and greedy sailors, does he even get close? Watch Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to find the answers. Oh, and you're guaranteed your share of adventure, as always. Technorati Tags: jack sparrow , pirates of the caribbean four , pirates of the caribbean on stranger tides , potc four , johnny depp , first mate angelica , hector barbossa , captain blackbeard , best pirate movie , thrilling adventure

good [f]luck chuck

Women fall like rain upon Charlie, aka the dentist Charles Logan. He is believed by them to be the lucky charm – sleep with him once, and you will get married to the most amazing man of your life . Charlie, on the other hand, is a good soul who refuses to take advantage of these girls. He believes that sex is nothing without love; and thus avoids them hoping that he will find the true love of his life. And so he does. He loves Cam like crazy. He wants to marry her; and in the process, does all sorts of activities aided by his childhood friend Stu. Will he get Cam to marry him, or will he let her go forever? Good Luck Chuck has the answer. Technorati Tags: mark helfrich , dane cook , jessica alba , romantic comedy , unlimited sex , fucking hilarious , lionsgate entertainment , dan fogler , cursed romance , good luck chuck

unfailing a failed mission

Astronaut Jim Lovell is looking forward to land on the moon; and after six months of rigorous training and simulation, he is ready for lift-off. As the day of launch approaches, one of the three crew members is disallowed (probably due to internal politics) to travel, brining in astronaut Jack who has had no training for months, and who is mostly shown pursuing his sexual interests. Thus a crew of three embarks, one of whom could be considered a guest astronaut. During the journey, when Jack is doing his routine instrumentation inspection he hits a wrong button, bringing havoc to the vehicle Odyssey along with her crew. Danger ensues, following a loud voice of Jim Lovell at the command center – Houston, we have a problem! Watch Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon and others to experience a true event in history – and an impossible attempt to un-fail a failed mission, in Apollo 13. Technorati Tags: unfailing a failed mission , jim lovell , fred haise , jack swigert , apol...

a con-movie from bollywood

Mysterious A is a sophisticated thief who chooses only the most precious items as his loots around the world. The police is baffled every time after seeing his signature ‘A’ in place of the item he just stole. But ACP Jai Dixit, a bright and promising young officer of Mumbai Police sees a pattern in the thefts of A. He knows the location of the next theft, and tires to out-think A, one step at a time. Thus begins a chase that takes them to Rio, and a series of interesting events surrounding the theft of the first coins minted by human hands. You are invited to watch Dhoom 2, a con-movie from Bollywood, that is interesting in the core, original in story-telling, and convincing to the heart and mind. The plot is great, and they have English subtitles, too. Technorati Tags: jai dixit , mysterious a , thief aryan , sunheri , aishwarya rai , hrithik roshan , abhishekh bachhan , bipasa basu , dhoom 2 , uday chopra

pirates of the caribbean: at world’s end

Some more quotes from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: " I prefer rum... Rum's good." "Well, then you wouldn't be here, would you? So you can't be here! Q.E.D. - you're not really here!" "Send this pestilent, traitorous, cow-hearted, yeasty codpiece to the brig." "Love, that is a dinghy. My vessel is magnificent and fierce and huge-ish. And gone. Why is it gone?" " I have no sympathy for any of you feculent maggots and no more patience to pretend otherwise. Gentlemen, I wash my hand of this weirdness." "And all of this pales to utter insignificance in light of the fact that my ship is once again gone. Savvy?" "Now we're being followed by rocks. Never had that one before." "Have you, now? It's very kind of you. But it would seem that as I possess a ship, and you don't... you're the ones in need of rescuing, and I'm not sure that I'm in the mood." ...

pirates of the caribbean: dead man’s chest

Upon returning almost empty-handed from a mission, Jack faces an eager, awaiting crew. They ask him about the mission of which he apparently has no idea whatsoever - only that he understands he forgot about it altogether. Thus, to evade the crew's questions (about a certain key and a chest); he devises an elaborate wordplay that reads: "No. If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?" Some more memorable quotes from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: "No. You want you to find this, because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and or locating in your discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle, ol' what's-her-face. Savvy?" "You mistrust me? Listen, you can mistrust him, trust me." "Let us examine t...

pirates of the caribbean: the curse of the black pearl

"Me? I'm dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid.' What fierce pirate Hector Barbossa will make of these lines by Jack Sparrow, is anybody's guess; but witty Jack never ceases to vex his competitors at the opportune moment. Here's a compilation of some memorable quotes from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. "She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really... except for, of course, Elizabeth, who is in fact, a woman." "When you marooned me on that god forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate: I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." "Fortunately, I know how to counter it; the man wh...

best albums of the decade

Without further ado, I give you the top albums of the past decade: Turn Back the Years by Hank Williams , 2005 The College Dropout by Kanye West , 2004 Portrait of a Legend by Sam Cooke , 2003 Elvis: 30 No. 1 Hits by Elvis , 2002 The Anthology by Muddy Waters , 2001 Kid A by Radiohead , 2000 Stankonia by Outkast , 2000 Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea by PJ Harvey , 2000 The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem , 2000 This list is from the All-Time 100 Albums of the last half-century by Time . Technorati Tags: best of hank williams , best of kanye west , best of sam cooke , best of elvis , best of muddy waters , best of radiohead , best of outkast , best of pj harvey , best of eminem , best albums of all times

a picture think-tionary for life

We all have problems in life. All the time we keep on looking for answers to our problems, but often forget that asking the right questions can cut lots of trouble in the process. Here’s one site that makes a different approach – encouraging people to find solutions by helping them ask questions about themselves. It sure is a unique approach that is strong in the core and simple on the outside. Huge thanks go to the creators. Meanwhile, make sure that you check out the archives section, from which some of the questions below have been taken: Through all of life's twists and turns, who has been there for you? Where do you spend most of your time while you're awake? What things in life should always be free? How would an extra $1000 a month change your life? What are you an expert at? What is your favorite sound? Right now, at this moment, what do you want most? Technorati Tags: dealing with problems , just a thought , unique approach to problem-solving , picture t...

growing a square watermelon

Next time you visit the store, make sure that you look for cubic watermelons. Yes, you heard me right – cubic watermelons! It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention; and for Tokyoites always clamouring for space, this new shape has provided them relief. The cubic shape gives them what they crave for, at least within their refrigerators. According to the farmers who grow them, cubic watermelons were created because they are easy to stock, easy to cut and easy to package. The idea of a cubic shape, as opposed to its natural shape occurred to one farmer in Zentsuji in 2001. Since then, farmers in the quiet town in southern Japan have been famous around the world. Without doubt, Zentsuji has been registered as the birthplace of cubic watermelons. The concept is simple – as the fruit is growing in the vine, put it inside a cube-shaped glass casing, and Mother Nature takes care of the rest. Not as difficult as it sounds, is it? Cubic they might be, but they come with a pr...

the tourist

Frank, a maths teacher from Wisconsin, is seemingly mistaken for the cunning and inconspicuous Alexander Pierce. Wanted for a theft of 744 million Pounds, Alexander is nowhere to be found. Enter Elise, a gorgeous tourist who is constantly under surveillance, and whose identity very much hidden. Supposed to be the girl-friend of Alexander, Elise is the only clue to find him, and also to find the money. Will they be able to track him down, or will Alexander once again get away with the money? It's a hard riddle for the Europol, and even for Elise. Technorati Tags: wisconsin teacher , maths teacher , angelina jolie , johnny depp , remake of anthony zimmer , gk films , golden globe nominations , florian henckel von donnersmarck , riddles for europol , gorgeous tourist

the early twenty-first century

The day passed with heavy rainfall, and in the afternoon I found myself in the storage room sorting out my old movie collection. There were movies mostly from the nineties, those that had affected my imagination and impressed me as a teenager. One such movie was The Fifth Element. As soon as I did dusting off the cover, I decided to watch it once gain. So I took out the VCR, cleaned it all day and in the evening, sat in front of the TV. The Fifth Element features genetically engineered beings, flying cars, visitors from space, smart homes, light-speed travel, interplanetary vacations, and last but not the least, ultra-sophisticated handguns. It is a technological mecca for Sci-Fi lovers, with seamless animations and visual effects. It brought back some wonderful memories, of how we re-winded the scenes and played and re-winded and played and so on. We often talked about whether the technologies shown in the movie would one day be realized, possibly in the near future! Come to think of ...

how things used to be

Next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s : Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children - last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water." Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, rats, and bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it ...