THE 鈥淲akefield triangle鈥� 鈥� in which Paul Barker鈥檚 attempts to get a wireless connection on the train produced the warning 鈥淣o map contains our current position鈥� 鈥� is not as 鈥渦nexpected鈥� as we thought (11 June).
The box of carpet cleaner that Sara Davies ordered online arrived sternly labelled 鈥淢ulti-item set 鈥� do not open鈥�. We still haven鈥檛 heard how she got the stuff out
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Norman McCanch is one of many readers who told us so. He writes: 鈥淧urely to confirm my reputation as a pedantic old fossil, can I mention that this term has long been used to describe 鈥榯he Rhubarb triangle鈥� 鈥� a 23-square-kilometre area in West Yorkshire, UK, famous for producing early forced rhubarb.鈥�
Could this be true? A quick search confirmed it. We found that growing this type of rhubarb is a highly skilled craft that among other things involves keeping the growing plants in total darkness in sheds for several weeks. Many websites 鈥� see for example 鈥� assert that rhubarb produced in this way is exceptionally delicious and that the forced rhubarb from the Wakefield triangle is an 鈥渦ndeniably superior product鈥�. Indeed, we find that the triangle鈥檚 rhubarb farmers applied in 2005 for , the European Union equivalent of 鈥�appellation d鈥檕rigine contr么l茅e鈥�. This was finally granted in February 2010.
On a note closer to home, New 杏吧原创鈥榮 Yorkshire-reared production editor Mick O鈥橦are tells us that his father had a forced rhubarb shed and he recalls 鈥渢he dampness and the smell of candles鈥�. He also confirms what the websites tell us 鈥� that during each season until the 1960s an overnight train known as the Rhubarb Express ran from Wakefield to London so that the rhubarb could be sold at dawn in Covent Garden market.
One question remains. Why was Paul Barker鈥檚 computer unable to work out its location when it passed through the Wakefield triangle? Could the fact that it was surrounded by rhubarb at the time have anything to do with it? Is there perhaps a substance in rhubarb leaves that knocks out computers 鈥� or that makes the rhubarb and its surroundings invisible to surveillance systems, like the vegetable equivalent of a stealth bomber? Further research is needed.
Meanwhile, Feedback salutes the triangle鈥檚 rhubarb growers and refers readers to the splendid statue of a giant rhubarb that has been erected in Wakefield to celebrate the region鈥檚 horticultural and gastronomic significance (see ).
The two-slit railway breakthrough
QUANTUM transportation appears to be developing more rapidly than the classical kind. We first became aware of the instruction on London鈥檚 Underground to 鈥渦se all doors to exit鈥� (16 June 2007) and the instruction to Parisian pedestrians to 鈥渃ross the road in two times鈥� (29 November 2008). Now, delving into Feedback鈥檚 notorious filing system, we come across a report from October 2010 on BBC news online of an incident in which passengers made an unauthorised departure from a broken-down train. That train, we were informed, 鈥渁lso called at Hertfordshire鈥�.
The county of Hertfordshire, just north of London, covers 1643 square kilometres. Could the breakdown have been due to the train in question passing through two slits and subsequently calling, as a wave function, at the entire area simultaneously?
The BBC has, to its credit, since responded to reader demands to collapse that wave function and amended the story to have the train calling at 鈥渟tops in Hertfordshire鈥�.
ONE of the apps Barry Matthew uses on his Palm Pre smartphone calculates his GPS coordinates. He was intrigued to find that it attempts to be accurate to 15 decimal places. He sends us a screen shot which gives 鈥淕PS accuracy鈥� of 37.947330474853516 metres. What can this mean? Barry thinks it means he can know his position to within about 1 electron radius.
鈥淗ooray!鈥� he exclaims.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
We, on the other hand, suspect that his phone has failed to round up to a 38-metre radius 鈥� so it is being incredibly precise about a location accuracy that鈥檚 actually quite vague.
WHEN John Gledhill tried to log in to his account on web-hosting company 鈥溾��, he made an error which prompted this message: 鈥淚f you are still unable to login, please call our emergency phone line.鈥�
The words 鈥淓mergency phone line鈥� were a hyperlink, so he clicked on them, only to be told: 鈥淭he website declined to show this webpage. Most likely causes: This website requires you to log in.鈥�
鈥淗o hum,鈥� says John.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
The definition of redundant definition
FINALLY, for the avoidance of doubt, the manual for Drew Rankine鈥檚 Canon G12 camera informs: 鈥淭he various types of memory cards that can be used in this camera are collectively referred to as memory cards in this guide.鈥�
鈥淣ow everything鈥檚 clear,鈥� observes Drew.