The Daily Teaser — 1-4-2016: April Fool’s … !

Now that’s not funny … 

I don’t know if you know it, but here in the UK, we’ve a tax called the Council Tax.

It’s a tax on every property in the UK: and is due to your local council.

My first payment’s due, today.

And, as yet?

I’ve not received the payment card that means I can pay it at any given PayPoint outlet.

I can pay it a couple of ways: I can use direct debit.   Or I can pay at my bank.

You’d THINK I’d be able to walk into my local council offices — just as far away from me as my bank — and pay cash, wouldn’t you?

You’d think I’d be able to walk into my local council, pay them the tax I owe, in cash … and then walk off to do everything else.

Wrong.   They don’t have the facilities.

They can’t afford them!

Whilst there’s other options, I’d, personally, prefer to pay cash at the council’s offices.

There’s bound to be others who like that: or pensioners who can’t get the hang of online payments, or people with no way of paying by direct debit.

And other who don’t — yet — have a payment card.

None of us can pay the council, the council tax we owe it … at the council.

Somewhere out there, someone thinks that funny.

I’m not one of them!

~≈†≈~

But let’s move on, shall we?

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Olga* putting in her answers: scoring five out of six in the process.

Let’s see how everyone does with today’s Foolish #Teaser, shall we?

Here’s the questions, along with the How To, License and video … 

Q1) The Fool is a card in the Tarot card deck: in the Major or minor arcana?

Q2) More to the point, The Fool is — when numbered — given what number?

Q3) 1st April, 2003, saw people where conned into thinking they’d be facing a congestion charge: Leicestershire, Lincolnshire or Lancashire?

Q4) April 1st, 2004, saw a well-known tech firm announce it would be starting an email service: which people were convinced was a joke.   It wasn’t.   What was that firm?

Q5) That same day — 1st April, 2004 — saw which small English town jokingly twinned with Barcelona?

Q6) 1st April, 2005, saw the Today program jokingly announce Radio 4’s soap opera would start using a disco version of its theme tune.   What’s the name of that soap opera?

Q7) Finally … 1st April, 2015, saw RTÉ News announced the launch of Fur TV: a station for pets.   RTÉ News is based in which European country?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 31st March sees one US state mark Thomas Mundy Peterson Day: marking the day Thomas Mundy Peterson became the first African American cast a vote in the USA.   WHICH US state?

A1) New Jersey.

Q2) 31st March, 1959, saw the Dalai Lama granted political asylum: in which country?

A2) India.

Q3) The UK established the Bechuanaland Protectorate: on 31st March, 1885.   The protectorate is now known as which African nation: Angola, Botswana or Chad?

A3) The Republic of Botswana.

Q4) 31st March, 1836, saw publication of the first installment of The Pickwick Papers.   Who wrote The Pickwick Papers?

A4) Charles Dickens.

Q5) Finally … 31st March saw construction start on the RMS Titanic: in which year?

A5) 1909.

I’ll leave you with this thought …

“The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year.”

Mark Twain.

And this tune … 

Have a good day.

Don’t laugh TOO hard!

*        Oh, French air-traffic controllers are on strike, Olga?   Again … ?   Cie la vie† … !   At ANY rate … ?   I’m, personally, glad sites like Wikipedia allow one to make contributions in the way they do: at least we can flag up things like the Batman Date Confusion.

†        There’s a cue for some dancing …