STANDING on the shoulders of giants may feel like a fairground ride, since the number of giants keeps shifting. William Wakefield wrote a letter (10 December 2011, p 32) to congratulate New 杏吧原创 for starting a feature dealing with the multiverse on page 42 (26 November 2011). This he construed as a reference to the number鈥檚 starring role in The Hitchhiker鈥檚 Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, in which it played the 鈥渁nswer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything鈥�.
Unsurprisingly, this was not 42鈥檚 first starring role. David Purchase points us to this proclamation by the king in Lewis Carroll鈥檚 Alice鈥檚 Adventures in Wonderland (1865): 鈥淩ule forty-two: All persons more than a mile high must leave the court.鈥� And in Carroll鈥檚 Hunting of the Snark (1876) the Baker 鈥渉ad forty-two boxes, all carefully packed鈥�.
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Two or more can play that game, David. We refer you to the (anonymous, Babylon, circa 640 BC): 鈥渓ittle children鈥� mocked [Elisha], and said unto him, go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare [mauled] forty and two children of them.鈥�
Does anyone have a searchable edition of the Indian Vedas to hand, which may have been written as early as 1500 BC?
A sign outside Bob Humphrey鈥檚 local butcher鈥檚 shop proclaims 鈥淗and-raised pork pies鈥�. Bob is relieved that someone is making the effort to conserve the wild pork pie population
A COLLEAGUE tells how his home鈥檚 intruder alarm kept detecting suspicious motion and sounding off while he was out. The doors and windows were tightly locked with no one inside; there was no trapped cat or bird either.
After several dashes home to switch off the alarm he called in the company that had installed it and complained about poor design and workmanship.
鈥淒id you enjoy the party?鈥� asked the engineer when he arrived and started inspecting the house.
There, in one of the rooms, was a souvenir silvery helium balloon clinging to the ceiling. Any draft or convection current from the central heating moved the light-reflecting orb just enough to fool the alarm into doing its job just as it was supposed to do.
READERS have taken Feedback to task for our puzzlement at the obvious pride that Eizo takes in its computer monitor consuming 鈥淶ero watts when turned off鈥� (18 February).
Nicholas Sawyer made measurements and was 鈥渟hocked to discover that my computer monitor consumes between 20 and 30 watts when the switch on the monitor itself is off, but it is connected to a switched-on power point.鈥�
It is true that in many devices the thing that looks like a power switch is in fact a sort of one-key keyboard, behind which is a tiny computer whose task is to watch for you pressing that key in order to activate the device 鈥� consuming energy as it does so.
Christopher Jessop proposes that 鈥淥FF really means OFF鈥� should be mandated in all electrical safety codes, worldwide.
鈥淧owered up but not ON,鈥� he points out 鈥� 鈥渢hat鈥檚 STANDBY mode.鈥�
Your local doctor is sponsored by鈥�
VISITING the in Chichester, West Sussex, UK, Alan Wells was disturbed to find that it now bears advertising from 鈥渟ponsors鈥�. This jars somewhat with the ethos of the UK鈥檚 National Health Service, but it was the identity of the sponsors that most alarmed Alan. At the time of writing, at least, they were a firm of solicitors and a funeral director.
Alan was inspired to check other local doctors鈥� websites. He discovered and nursing homes for the elderly: we hope these activities don鈥檛 cross over too much.
READER Chris Daniel says he thought of Feedback when he came across a banner advert for that said 鈥�25 per cent of our customers save up to 拢400鈥�.
Chris wonders whether this means that 75 per cent of customers save more than 拢400, or if it means that 75 per cent don鈥檛 save anything at all.
The former is unlikely, he decided, otherwise they would trumpet it. So it must be the latter 鈥� in which case they seem very proud to announce that most of their customers don鈥檛 benefit from their service.
Chris commends them for their honesty.
FINALLY, the instructions that came with the replacement solar light batteries that Jim Lawless bought told him: 鈥淭o charge batteries, install in your solar lights and place lights in full direct sunlight for 36 鈥� 48 hours.鈥�
Jim is wondering whether to go to the Arctic in June or to the Antarctic in December in order to make this possible.