Clive White’s Blog

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Great moments in Physics….(from the archives)

The following concerns a question in a physics degree exam at the University of Copenhagen.
“Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper with a barometer.”
One student replied:
“You tie a long piece of string to the neck of the barometer, then lower the barometer from the roof of the skyscraper to the [...]

Sgt Michael Willets was awarded the George Cross for his bravery…….( from the archives)

Sgt Michael Willets was awarded the George Cross for his bravery . The song by Harvey Andrews tells the story ,Harvey Andrews one of my favourite singers from the seventies..

The bonehead awards

These awards are handed out to people or administrations or any one who has become a waste of space or oxygen thief
St. Clair County, Illinois, spent $330 million dollars for a new airport that no airline was interested in using.  For one year, the airport was kept in operation for 12 hours per day, staffed [...]

Obituary of Common Sense !

Today, we mourn the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.
Common Sense lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the Millennium. No one really knows how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. [...]

FBI

The Width of a Horse’s Ass!

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number.
Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and the US railroads were built by English expatriates.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built [...]

True stories from history

The following is supposedly a true story.
Scene: A courtroom where a witness is testifying in a case involving a man biting off the ear of another man during a fight. After supplying testimony which was very bad for the defendant, the witness was being cross examined by the defendant’s attorney.
Attorney: You said that you saw [...]

If I Had My Life To Live Over!

I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken [...]