h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

<> says someone who has obviously never been to Airdrie.

Is it said yet? In comparision to all other life on Earth, Army Ants are the strongest animals on the planet.

Relative to their size, being the key words.

Reminds me of the barnacle.

I suspect your thoughts are often drawn to the barnacle, CZ.

Pit - pebbledash is "Waschbeton" in German. (At least it is in this part of the world) Easy-care ground cover, but plays havoc on cycle tyres and kids' knees.

Sorry, that was useful. If only to Pit.

Useless: If you're invited to the Queen's Garden party, the Queen may not necessarily be there.

The surgical tool used to remove bullets from wounds is called an 'alphonsin'.

I'm hoping that will be useless to you all.

Presumably alphonsins come in different sizes - to cater for shotgun pellets, .45s and what, 6" shells?
(and how useless is that last one?)

For the 6" bullets, I'd suggest a pair of channel locks, or your bare hand. The patient is dead anyway.

Is the alphonsin that thing older than medieval, that looks like two teaspoons? Still very good, but when the patient has arrived in three ambulances (6") you have a job. Ouch.

It's from the 16th century and consists of three "fingers" that close by moving a ring down around them; invented by Alphonso Ferri of Naples.

The good old fashioned wheel is older than medieval too.

But it´s not very long ago that a clever Aussie lawyer got it patented.
Google under "wheel AND patent".

The creator of the iconic Pringles can asked that his ashes be buried in one.

It's possible to calculate pi by throwing sticks on the ground, if the floor is lined.

It is. And you even get the same result when you bend the sticks into rings.

... or the overall length of a river vs its actual track.

Today's useless fact, courtesy of Neil deGrasse Tyson:

First mammals to achieve orbit, in order: Dog, Guinea Pig, Mouse, Russian Human, Chimpanzee, American Human.

Well - that´s progress! Laika (that famous dog) only lasted long enough for the pics to be shot...astonauts and cozmonawts (sorry, no kyrillic on my keyboard)had enough oxygen to make it back,

Astronauts is a misnomer.

Y.