The Daily Teaser — 23-6-2012

Hmmm … 

You know, I’ve got to admit, I was at my doctor’s, yesterday.

Seemingly … ?

Seemingly, and after several blood tests, it seems I’ve got a mildly underactive thyroid gland.

Which makes sense of a FEW things, going by the symptom list, I know that: especially the stress related ones.

Actually, MOST of them make some sort of sense.

Bar the mention of abnormal menstrual cycle.

It’d be a STRANGE universe if I’ve a problem, THERE … !

At ANY rate, let’s get moving on, shall we?   While I remind you it’s Alan Turing’s birthday: as he was a keen amateur runner, go for a jog to celebrate … 

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Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi putting in her answers: along with commenting on her potential usage of the word ‘knackered’*, also bagged 6 out of 6.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 23rd June, 1912, saw the birth of Alan Turing, the father of the modern computer.   During World War 2, he worked at Britain’s code-breaking centre, in Bletchley Park: what was that centre’s formal name … ?

Q2) More to the point, name either of the German cipher machines which he helped crack … ?

Q3) 23rd June, 79 AD, saw who become Roman Emperor … ?

Q4) 23rd June, 1868 saw Christopher L. Sholes patent the first commercially successful typewriter.   Yes or No: did he himself use it?

Q5) And finally … 23rd June, 1943, saw the birth of computer scientist, Vint Cerf: one of the men known as the father of what … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 22nd June, 1911, saw which George crowned as King of the UK: George 5th, George 6th or Edward 8th … ?

A1) George 5th.

Q2) More to the point, who was his queen … ?

A2) Mary of Teck.

Q3) 22nd June, 2003, saw the world’s largest hailstone hit WHICH Nebraska town … ?

A3) Aurora.

Q4) 22nd June, 1984, saw which airline make its first commercial flight … ?

A4) Virgin Atlantic.

Q5) 22nd June, 1978, saw the discovery of Charon, the moon of Pluto.   The Greek mythological figure it’s named after is what: a three headed dog, a ferryman or a river … ?

A5) A ferryman.

Q6) And finally … 22nd June, 2009, saw Eastman Kodak announce they were to stops selling what: cameras, film or printers.

A6) Film: or their bestselling brand of colour film, to be accurate …

Enjoy those, everyone.

As the late Dr Turingº shares his birthday with Adam Faith, I’ll leave you with Poor Me … 

*        Oh, go ahead, Debbi: if you get funny looks, you can tell people I said it was ok … ! :D   But on a more SERIOUS note … ?   It turns out Wikipedia has a whole entry on British slang, which is nice.   And rather eye-popping: It’s only now I’ve found out what ‘berk’ª is actually short for … !

ª        It’s a bit like ‘aris’ as a term for one s backside: ‘Aris’ is short for ‘Aristotle’, which rhymes with ‘bottle’, from the rhyming slang phrase ‘Bottle and Glass’.   I’ll let you fill in the last bit, shall I , Debbi … ?

º        As a final note … ?   It’s generally accepted that Alan Turing’s work during the war helped shorten it by two years.   I still personally feel he should get SOME sort of medal for that.   On top of that … ?   I would not be posting this — and you would not be reading it — without his work on computers.   THAT deserves a reward: not the undignified death he eventually faced …