manormonkey? - cdn.waterstones.com · children's miscellany 1 interior china 14/6/07 15:26...

26

Children’s Miscellany Volume One

MAN OR MONKEY?

Apes and humans share 98 per cent of their genetic

material. However, there are some differences:

APE

• Small brain

• Arms longer than legs

• Hand-like feet with

opposable big toes

• Walks on all fours

• Spine joins skull

from back

• Knee joints will not

lock upright

• Very hairy body

• Completely brown eyes

• Vocal cords only capable

of simple sounds

MAN

• Large, variable-sized brain

• Legs longer than arms

• Feet for walking,

not climbing

• Walks upright

• Spine joins skull

from below

• Knee joints lock upright

• Short hair over most

of the body

• Mostly white eyes

• Vocal cords capable of

complex sounds and singing

Children's Miscellany 1 interior China 14/6/07 15:26 Page 26

27


HOW TO MAKE A RAINBOW

You will need: a sunny day, a glass, white paper, water.

1. Fill a glass with water, almost to the top.

2. Place the glass so that it is half on and half off the

edge of a table.

3. Place a piece of white paper on the floor.

4. Make sure the sun shines directly through the water

onto the white paper.

5. Adjust the paper or the glass until a rainbow forms

on the paper.

TEN WAYS TO SAVE THE PLANET

Volunteer for an environmental charity.

Switch off electrical items when not in use.

Walk or cycle to school instead of being driven.

Take bottles, glass, cans, paper and plastic to be recycled.

Turn down the central heating by one degree.

Use energy-efficient, compact, fluorescent light bulbs.

Take quick showers rather than deep baths.

Take out re-usable bags when shopping.

Use products that are environmentally friendly, such

as recycled paper.

Take an interest in environmental issues: on television,

in magazines and on the Internet.

HORRIBLE SOUNDS

Knuckles cracking • Fingernails scratching down a blackboard

Skin rubbing against a balloon • Wool grating between teeth

Children's Miscellany 1 interior China 14/6/07 15:26 7

28


PIRATE PUNISHMENTS

MAN OVERBOARD

If a pirate was found guilty of a serious crime, he would be

forced to walk the plank or flung over the side of the ship.

Particularly nasty captains would tow the treacherous pirate

behind the ship on a length of rope until dead from

hypothermia, exhaustion or drowning.

MAROONING

Pirates found guilty of mutiny were either left on a remote,

deserted island or cast adrift on a tiny raft, with no provisions.

DUNKING

As a less severe punishment, pirates were strung upside down

from a mast and lowered down into the ocean several times,

then left hung up to dry in the blazing sun.

BIRDS THAT CANNOT FLY

Emu • Kiwi • Ostrich • Dodo • Penguin


DISGUSTING DISHES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

29


JELLIED BLOOD (China)

Congealed duck or pig

blood is served on a plate in

the shape of a pizza, with

herbs and rice crackers.

STINKHEADS (Alaska)

Eskimos chop the heads

off raw fish, particularly

salmon, bury them in ice for

three to four months, then

dig them up and eat the

foul-smelling result.

DRIED ALGAE (Africa)

The Kanembu, a tribe living

on the shores of Lake Chad,

harvest a common variety

of algae called ‘spirulina’, dry

it on the sand, mix it up into

a spicy cake, and eat it with

tomatoes and chilli peppers.

MAGGOT CHEESE (Sardinia)

Cheese is left out covered

with cheesecloth so flies

lay their eggs in it. When

the maggots hatch, the

resulting mess is spread

on bread and devoured.

1000-YEAR-OLD EGGS

(China)

A duck egg is buried in

garden soil for 100 days then

dug up, the shell cracked

and removed, and the

greyish-green hard yolk cut

into slices and served.

BLOOD STEW (Philippines)

This stew is made from pig's

heart, liver, head and blood

and is often more pleasantly

known as ‘chocolate pork’.


30


FREAKY FASHIONS

In Tudor England, people

wore huge collars and

ruffs around their necks

that sometimes stuck

out further than their

shoulders.

In Renaissance Italy,

women shaved off their

eyebrows and shaved

their hair several

inches back from

their natural hairlines.

Fashionable women in

medieval Japan gilded

or blackened their teeth.

In ancient Rome, women used a paste of chalk mixed with

vinegar as perfume.

Some of the earliest cosmetics, made from mercury and lead,

disfigured faces and sometimes poisoned people to death.

The hobble skirt, popular in the 19th century, was so narrow

below the knees that it made it difficult for women to walk.

The practice of foot-binding began in China around 960BC.

Infant girls had all their toes (except their big toes) broken and

their feet bound with cloth strips to stop them growing larger

than 10cm. Foot-binding ceased in the 20th century.

18th-century hoop petticoats made getting through a door

difficult and getting into a carriage almost impossible. If the

wearer sat down too fast, the hoop could also fly up and hit

her in the face.

In ancient Egypt, rich women placed a large cone of scented

grease on top of their heads and kept it there all day. The

grease melted and dripped down over their bodies, covering

their skin with an oily, fragrant sheen.


31


KNOCK, KNOCK. WHO’S THERE?

Major................Major look, Major stare, Major lose your underwear.

Boo..........................................................................Don’t cry. It’s only a joke.

Nunya.........................................................................................Nunya business!

Al......................................Al bust this door down if you don’t let me in.

Amanda..........................................................A man dat wants to come in.

Toby...............................................Toby or not Toby, that is the question.

Atch.........................................................................................................Bless you!

Albert.......................................................Albert you don’t know who I am.

Elma.....................Elma-ny more knock, knock jokes can you take?

According to legend, Rome was built by twin brothers,

Romulus and Remus. When they were babies, their wicked

uncle put them in a basket and left them by the River Tiber

to starve. They were rescued and looked after by a she-wolf.

Years later, Mars, the god of war, approached the boys and

told them to build a city where they had been found. They built

the city, but ended up at war with each other. Romulus won

the battle and as a result the city became known as Rome.

ROMAN NUMERALS

1 I

2 II

3 III

4 IV

5 V

6 VI

7 VII

8 VIII

9 IX

10 X

20 XX

30 XXX

40 XL

50 L

60 LX

70 LXX

80 LXXX

90 XC

100 C

200 CC

300 CCC

400 CCCC

500 D

600 DC

700 DCC

800 DCCC

900 CM

1,000 M


32


TAE KWON DO (‘The Foot Hand Way’)

Origin: Korea • Self-defence

• Emphasizes impressive high kicks

and hand techniques.

KARATE (‘Empty Hand’)

Origin: Japan • Self-defence • Very

energetic, focuses on strikes and kicks.

KUNG FU (‘Skill/Art’)

Origin: China • Developed by the

Shaolin monks • Focuses on strikes and

kicks • Develops balance and speed.

JU-JITSU (‘Soft/Gentle Art’)

Origin: Japanese Samurai and Chinese

monks • Strikes and throwing

• Uses grappling techniques to turn an

opponent’s own strength against him.

AIKIDO (‘The Way of the Harmonious Spirit’)

Origin: Japan • A mental art of non-resistance • Relies on

using the opponent’s own momentum and force against him

through holds, throws and locks.

JUDO (‘The Gentle/Soft Way’)

Origin: Japan • A modernized form of ju-jitsu • Uses leverage

and balance to throw an opponent of any size to the floor.

MARTIAL ARTS

HOW MANY DAYS?

Thirty days hath September,

April, June and November;

All the rest have thirty-one,

Excepting February alone,

Which has but twenty-eight days clear,

And twenty-nine in each leap year.


HOW TO FIGHT BACK IN A SHARK ATTACK

If a shark attacks you, use anything in your possession to

hit the shark. Aim for the shark’s eyes or gills, which are

the areas most sensitive to pain (unlike the nose, as is often

believed). Make quick, sharp, repeated jabs. Hitting

the shark tells it that you are not defenceless, which means

that it might leave you alone.

Sharks live in every ocean of the world and shark attack is

a potential danger for anyone who swims in shark-inhabited

seas. But don’t panic – you are much more likely to be

struck by lightning than attacked by a shark.

GREEK AND ROMAN GODS

GREEK ROMAN

Aphrodite Goddess of sensual love and beauty Venus

Apollo God of prophecy, healing and music Phoebus

Ares God of war Mars

Artemis Goddess of hunting Diana

Athena Goddess of war and crafts Minerva

Demeter Goddess of agriculture Ceres

Dionysus God of wine and ecstasy Bacchus

Hades God of the Underworld Pluto

Hephaestus God of fire Vulcan

Hera Queen of Heaven Juno

Hermes Messenger of the gods Mercury

Poseidon God of the sea Neptune

Zeus All-powerful father of gods and mortals Jupiter

33


Moths are not attracted to light. They fly towards the

blackest point which appears to be behind the light.


62

Children’s Miscellany Volume Two

THINGS WE USE TREES FOR

Oxygen

Shade

Fuel

Buildings

Furniture

Musical instruments

Reducing noise pollution

Lowering air temperature

Vital drugs

Paper

Rubber

Building blocks

Homes for birds

Tree houses

SHAKESPEARIAN INSULTS

‘Your bum is the greatest thing about you.’

(Measure for Measure)

‘Pray you, stand farther away from me.’

(Antony and Cleopatra)

‘Thou art a boil, a plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle.’

(King Lear)

‘You Banbury cheese!’

(The Merry Wives of Windsor)

‘Thy food is such as hath been belched on by infected lungs.’

(Pericles, Prince of Tyre)

‘Were I like thee, I'd throw away myself.’

(Timon of Athens)


ABBREVIATIONS

AKA.................................................................................Also Known As

ASAP....................................................................As Soon As Possible

DVD......................................................................Digital Versatile Disk

ETA............................................................Estimated Time of Arrival

ISP...............................................................Internet Service Provider

MRSA..................Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

NB.....................................................................Nota Bene (note well)

RSVP.............................Répondez S’il Vous Plait (please reply)

TWAIN....................Technology Without Any Interesting Name

FIFO...............................................................................First In First Out

AWOL..............................................................Absent Without Leave

BYO...............................................................................Bring Your Own

TBC............................................................................To Be Confirmed

SWAT.................................................Special Weapons and Tactics

SCUBA....Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

63


FAMOUS

REAL-LIFE DOGS

Pickles, the dog who found

the stolen Football World

Cup in 1966.

Strelka and Belka, who

returned safely to earth

after a day in space in 1960.

Barry, a St Bernard who

rescued over 40 people

stranded in the Alps.

Rico, a Border collie who

understands over 200 words.

FAMOUS

REAL-LIFE CATS

Sugar, the cat who walked

some 1,500 miles across the

USA to rejoin her owners,

who had given her away

when they moved.

Scarlett, who rescued her

five kittens from a burning

building in New York in 1996.

Solomon, the white chinchilla

longhair who played Blofeld’s

cat in the James Bond films.


64


2. Fold it again, to form a

smaller triangle. Then unfold

the sheet and lay it flat.

FORTUNE FINDER

To make a fortune finder all you need is a square piece of

paper and some coloured pens.

5. Turn the sheet over so

that you can see four

squares, and fold in half with

the squares on the outside.

4. Turn the fortune finder

over, and repeat step 3,

folding the new corners into

the middle.

3. Fold each corner of the

square into the middle, so

the corners all meet at

the centre.

6. Finally, keeping the

squares on the outside, fold

in half the other way.

1. Fold the square in half

from one corner to

the other.


65


10. Slide the thumb and

forefinger of both your

hands under the flaps of

your fortune finder.

7. Use coloured pens to put a different coloured blob on each

of the four outer squares.

8. Write a different number on each of the eight inner triangles.

9. Lift up each of the numbered triangles and write a fortune,

such as ‘You will be rich and famous’ or ‘You will live in another

country’ underneath.

11. Ask a friend to choose one of the colours on the flaps of

your fortune finder. Spell out the colour, opening and closing the

fortune finder for each letter. On the last letter, hold the fortune

finder open and ask your friend to choose one of the four

numbers that show inside.

12. Count out that number, opening and closing the fortune finder,

then ask your friend to choose another number and count it out

the same way.

13. Ask your friend to pick a final number. Open up the flap

beneath that number and read your friend’s fortune.

You can use finders for lots of other things

by changing what you write under the

number flaps. Instead of writing fortunes you

could try dares, questions, insults, the names

of your friends’ true loves, or anything else

you can think of.


66


VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES

VITAMIN AND WHERE SYMPTOMS OF DEFICIENCY

TO FIND IT

Vitamin A Scaly skin, poor growth

(carrots, cabbage)

Vitamin B1 (thiamine) Beriberi: loss of appetite, tiredness,

(peas, beans, grains) aching joints, numbness in hands and

feet, heart problems

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) Poor digestion, eye disorders, dry

(cereal, milk) and flaky skin, sore red tongue

Vitamin B3 (niacin) Pellagra: weakness, skin

(chicken, tuna) inflammation, diarrhoea, weight loss,

depression, confusion, memory loss

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) Depression, nausea, weakness,

(beans, fish) greasy and flaky skin

Vitamin B7 or H (biotin) Heart abnormalities, appetite loss,

(eggs, spinach) fatigue, depression, dry skin

Vitamin B12 Anaemia, fatigue, nerve damage,

(beef, shellfish) smooth tongue, very sensitive skin.

Vitamin C Scurvy: tiredness, aching, sores that

(oranges, strawberries) won’t heal, swollen gums,

teeth fall out

Vitamin D Rickets: deformed skull, curved

(salmon, eggs) spine, bowed legs, knobbly growths

on ends of bones

Vitamin E Nervous-system problems

(green leafy veg)

Vitamin K Thin blood, danger of bleeding

(broccoli, cheese) to death

Ask a friend to think of a word that

rhymes with orange, purple or silver.


67


THE CHINESE CALENDAR

1995.............................................................................................Pig

1996...........................................................................................Rat

1997.........................................................................................Cow

1998........................................................................................Tiger

1999.....................................................................................Rabbit

2000..................................................................................Dragon

2001.....................................................................................Snake

2002.....................................................................................Horse

2003.......................................................................................Goat

2004.................................................................................Monkey

2005.................................................................................Rooster

2006.........................................................................................Dog

And then back to pig – it is a twelve-year cycle.

TOP FIVE ALL-TIME WORLDWIDE BOX-OFFICE HITS

ONE

Titanic (1997)

TWO

The Lord of the Rings:

The Return of the King (2003)

THREE

Harry Potter and the

Philosopher's Stone (2001)

FOUR

Star Wars: Episode I -

The Phantom Menace (1999)

FIVE

The Lord of the Rings:

The Two Towers (2002)


68


self-esteem

respect

imitation

hope spirit-uality

agree

cause

place

kindnessnature

compare

love of praise

conscio

us-

ness

love of

the grand

love o

f

posse

ssions

constructiv

eness

tune

love of beauty

persev

erance

fun

cautiou

snes

s

union for

life

com

bativ

eness

parental lov

e

secretive

ness

destr

uct

ivene

ss

conc

en-

tration

love o

fhom

e

time

mem-ory

orig

inal

size

form

talk

numbers

blin

d

sightorde

r

love

of life

appetite

PHRENOLOGY

According to phrenology, all the many aspects of a person’s

character can be seen in ‘bumps’ on the surface of the brain.

As the personality developed so would the bumps – those

corresponding to much-used characteristics growing and those

corresponding to little-used characteristics shrinking. These

bumps could change with character over time. The diagram

below shows which bumps relate to which characteristics


CAUSES OF CROP-CIRCLES: THEORIES

Landscape artists • Evil entities • Aliens

Freak whirlwinds • Unknown natural energies • Hoaxers

Intelligent balls of white light

69


ANIMALS THAT CAN CHANGE COLOUR

Chameleon • Flounder • Octopus • Cuttlefish

Golden tortoise beetle • Bark spider

BODY APPENDAGES

CLAY LIP PLATES

(Mursi people, Omo Valley, Ethiopia)

When a Mursi girl reaches the age of 15 or 16, her bottom lip

is pierced and a clay lip plate is inserted. As the lip stretches,

larger and larger plates are inserted. It is thought that the

larger the lip plate, the greater the number of cattle required

in exchange for her hand in marriage.

BRASS NECK RINGS

(Padaung tribe, Burma)

As young girls, women from the Padaung tribe are given brass

rings to wear around their necks. As they grow up, more and

more rings are added and this gives them the appearance of

having extraordinarily long necks. In fact, the rings do not

stretch the neck, but rather the weight of them pushes down

on the collarbone until it appears to be a part of the neck.

EARLOBE PIERCINGS

(global)

In Western culture it is common for men and women to pierce

their ears. Sometimes, by gradually increasing the size of the

part of the ring that goes through the piercing, people

increase the size of the holes to accommodate large earplugs.


THINGS NOT TO TREAD ON WHEN

PADDLING IN THE SEA

Portuguese man-of-war.......................Jellyfish with stinging tentacles

Stinging seaweed....................Venomous animal disguised as a plant

Fire coral............................Looks like coral but has stinging tentacles

Stonefish........................Looks like a stone but has poisonous spines

Sea urchin............Has poisonous spines that break off in your foot

Stingray..............................................Fish with a razor-sharp spine and

stinging tail that lies in the sand

Blue-ringed octopus................The size of a tennis ball, with poison

powerful enough to kill a human in minutes

14

Children’s Miscellany Volume Three

INEXPENSIVE COLLECTIBLES

Chewing-gum packets • Aeroplane sick bags

Crisp packets • Rubber ducks • Matchboxes

Train tickets • Four-leaf clovers • Fruit stickers

Human teeth • Buttons • Ballpoint pens

Fridge magnets • Fizzy-drink cans

CHILDREN'S MISC VOL 3 interior PRINTER finland 16/06/06 13:10 Page 14

15


PHASES OF THE MOON

On average, the Moon takes 291/2 days to complete one orbit

around the Earth. This is known as a lunar month. During this

time, the Moon goes through a complete cycle from new Moon

to full Moon and back again. The phases are:

In the southern hemisphere, the above is reversed so that a

waxing-crescent Moon is seen as the left side of the Moon, and

a waning-crescent Moon is seen as the right side of the Moon.

Dark Moon or

New Moon

First-quarter

Moon

Waxing-crescent

Moon

Waxing-gibbous

Moon

Waning-gibbous

Moon

Full Moon

Last-quarter

Moon

Dark Moon or

New Moon

Waning-crescent

Moon

Paraguay is the only country in the world

whose national flag has two different sides.

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9


16


HOW TO KEEP A DIARY

1. Make sure that your diary

is special to you. You might

want to cover a blank pad

with paper, fabric or photos.

2. Don’t feel that you have to

write something every day.

3. Focus on the details of

your day: who you saw,

what you did, where you

went and how you felt.

5. Don’t whinge in it. Write boldly.

4. If you are writing sensational material about people you

know, disguise their identities with code names.

6. It may help to address your entries to an imaginary person.

7. Keep it somewhere safe and away from prying eyes.

8. Just to be extra sure that no one will ever read it, write

MY BOOK OF ALGEBRA on the cover.

POISONOUS PLANTS

Deadly nightshade • Hemlock

Holly • Death cap mushroom

Mistletoe • Iris • Yew

FAST FLIERS

Peregrine falcon..................................................................270kph (168mph)

Spine-tailed swift...................................................................171kph (106mph)

Frigate bird.................................................................................153kph (95mph)

Spur-winged goose...............................................................142kph (88mph)

Red-breasted merganser...................................................129kph (80mph)


17


REAL-LIFE SUPERHEROES

STRETCHY MAN

British man Gary Turner can stretch his skin to a length

of 15.8cm (6.2in). By pulling the skin of his neck up and the

skin of his forehead down, he can completely cover his

whole face. On 27 November 2004, he clipped 159 wooden

clothes pegs to his face, earning himself a world record.

MR EAT EVERYTHING

In 1959 Michel Lotito of France developed a taste for

metal and glass. So far he has eaten 18 bicycles, 15

supermarket trolleys, 7 TV sets, 2 beds, 1 pair of skis

and 1 Cessna light aircraft.

THE HUMAN LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR

Roy C. Sullivan of the USA has been struck by lightning

no fewer than seven times. He has survived each strike,

but suffered the following injuries:

1942 - lost a big toenail

1969 - lost both eyebrows

1970 - left shoulder burned

1972 - hair caught fire

1973 - legs burned, hair singed

1976 - ankle hurt

1977 - stomach and chest burned

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Czech Republic

St Kitts and Nevis

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Seychelles

Solomon Islands

COUNTRIES WHOSE NAMES BEGIN AND END

WITH THE SAME LETTER


18


THE THREE-CARD-MONTE SCAM

1. The scammer shows three playing cards to the audience.

One of the cards is a queen.

2. The three cards are placed face-down on a table.

3. The scammer moves the cards around, changing their

positions, then invites the audience to place bets on which

one is the queen.

4. If the audience are sceptical and hang back, an accomplice

places a bet and wins.

5. Encouraged by this, the audience start placing bets.

6. The scammer secretly swaps the queen for a different card

to ensure that the members of the audience always lose.

7. To keep the bets coming in, every so often the scammer

secretly reintroduces the queen and lets someone win. If

he is a successful con artist, no one will even realize they

are being conned.

BIRD CALLS

Tawny owl............................................................‘Hoo hoo-hooo hoo-o-o’

Peregrine falcon.......‘Haak-haak-haak kee-keee-eeee wheee-ip’

Wren.............................................................................................‘Chit chiti tzerr’

Blue tit.................................................................‘Tsee-tsee-tsee-tsisisisisisi’

Nuthatch.......................................................‘Pew pew pew chwee chwee’

Bittern…............................................................................‘Boom ker-whoomp’

Middle-spotted woodpecker.........‘Kvek-kvek-kvek kuk-uk kuk-uk’

Brent goose..................................................‘Kurr-onk kurr-onk kurr-onk’

Laughing gull...............................‘hah-hah-hah hoo-hoo hah-hah-hah’

Wood pigeon....................‘Coo-ooo-coo-cu-ooo coo-coo-cu-coo’

Egyptian vulture….....................................................................................‘Silent’


FUN DUELLING WEAPONS

19


TEN RULES OF DUELLING

1. You may use a duel to restore honour if someone has

offended you.

2. Challenges are never delivered at night.

3. The duel must take place within a month of the

challenge being delivered.

4. The challenged has the right to choose the weapon

and the location of the duel.

5. Each combatant nominates a ‘second’ of equal rank in

society. The second acts as a go-between – first

attempting reconciliation between the parties, and then,

if this fails, fixing the time and terms of the duel.

6. The duellists start at an agreed distance from each other,

armed with swords or pistols.

7. Seconds must reattempt reconciliation after the specified

time or number of shots or blows.

8. In the case of pistols, a misfire is counted as a shot.

9. If seconds disagree on anything, they may themselves

duel. They should position themselves at right-angles to

the challengers to form a cross.

10. Any wound that causes the hand to shake ends the duel.

Bananas

Water pistols

Flour bombs

Snowballs

Light sabres

Custard pies

Paper aeroplanes

Back-to-front speaking


TIPS FOR REMOVING GUM FROM HAIR AND CLOTHING

1. Rub the gum with an ice cube. This will harden the gum,

making it easier to pick and scratch off.

2. Squeeze lemon juice on the gum. This will help reduce

its stickiness.

3. Put a few drops of cooking oil or peanut butter on a

toothbrush and scrub the gum.

HOW TO BLOW A BUBBLEGUM BUBBLE

1. Put a big piece of bubblegum in your mouth.

2. Chew it until it’s thin and stretchy.

3. Use your tongue to flatten the

gum across the backs of your

top and bottom front teeth.

4. Push the middle of the gum

out between your teeth while

forming a seal all the way

around the gum with your lips.

5. Blow into the stretched gum.

20


BUBBLEGUM

The first bubblegum was developed in 1906. It was

named ‘Blibber-Blubber’.

In 1928, the bubblegum recipe was improved by an American

called Walter Diemer, resulting in the first widely sold

bubblegum, ‘Dubble Bubble’. Diemer coloured his creation

pink because it was the only food colouring he had.

Today over 100,000 tons of bubblegum are chewed every year.

The advertising slogan ‘Pepsi gives you life’

was mistranslated into Chinese to ‘Pepsi

brings your ancestors back from the grave.’


21


CAR JOURNEY GAMES

I SPY

Look around and choose an object for the other passengers

to guess. Let them know the letter the object begins with by

saying ‘I spy with my little eye something beginning with...’ The

first person to guess correctly takes the next turn.

SCISSORS, PAPER, STONE

Hold your right hand in a fist and get a friend to do the same.

Count to three out loud and then, at the same time, each use

your hand to mime either a pair of scissors (first two fingers

held open), a piece of paper (a flat hand) or a stone (a fist).

Scissors beat (cut) paper. Paper beats (covers) stone. Stone

beats (blunts) scissors.

THE ALPHABET GAME

Choose a category such as ‘things that smell bad’, ‘wild

animals’, or ‘famous people’, and think of an example to fit the

chosen category for each letter of the alphabet.

FIRST TO 20

Each choose something to count: for example, yellow cars,

Belgian lorries or squashed animals. The first to count 20 of

their chosen category wins.

SING THE MILEAGE SONG

Substitute for ‘X’ the number of miles you have left to drive

in the following song: ‘X more miles to go, X more miles

of sorrow, X more miles in this old car and we’ll

be there tomorrow.’

APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY FOR SINGING THE MILEAGE SONG

Say sorry over and over until you reach your destination.

PLACES TO HIDE A SECRET MESSAGE

Under a loose floorboard • In the notch of a tree

Under your mattress • On the ledge inside a chimney

Behind a picture frame • In a watertight jar in a pond


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EXTREME CHALLENGES

THE POLAR CHALLENGE

592-km (368-mile) trek

to the North Pole.

X-factor: Freezing conditions.

DAKAR MOTOR RALLY

9,000-km (5,600-mile) motor

race across North Africa.

X-factor: The Sahara Desert.

VENDÉE GLOBE

37,000-km (23,000-mile),

non-stop, solo sail

around the world.

X-factor: Storms.

DEATH VALLEY

ULTRA-MARATHON

217-km (135-mile) run across

America’s Wild West.

X-factor: Soaring

temperatures.

TEXAS WATER SAFARI

Three-day, 421-km (262-

mile), non-stop canoe race,

along the Colorado River

to the Gulf of Mexico.

X-factor: Swirling currents.

WESTERN STATES

TRAIL RIDE

161-km (100-mile), 24-hour

horse race across the

Sierra Nevada Mountains.

X-factor: Saddle sores.

LA RUTA DE LOS

CONQUISTADORES

483-km (300-mile),

three-day mountain-bike

race in the Costa

Rican jungle.

X-factor: Two volcanoes.

GOOD LUCK

Seeing a black cat before

setting sail

Placing a silver coin under

the masthead

Seeing a swallow

Dolphins swimming

alongside the ship

The feather of a wren killed

on New Year’s Day

BAD LUCK

Crossing paths with a

redhead before setting sail

Looking back to port once

you have set sail

Setting sail on a Friday

Killing an albatross

Hearing church bells

Saying the word ‘drowned’

Drowning

SEAFARING SUPERSTITIONS


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