The Daily Teaser — 15-5-2014: In The Shadow Of The Gun …

You know, I’m thinking I’m going to have to gently retire Bruce, my aging Mac mini.

I think the overheating he suffers — especially after using Flash-intensive games — is getting a bit nasty.

OK, granted, I’m going to need about £500 to get a replacement.

Tricky, given my income!

Still: hopefully I can gently think of SOMETHING!

Even if it’s only installing a Donate button!

With that said … ?

Let’s get a move on … 

~≈Á≈~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers: and scoring five out of six.

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)        15th May, 1718, saw James Puckle patent a well known type of gun: what type of gun?

Q2)        What was Puckle’s day job … ?

Q3)        What did he call his gun: a defence gun, attack gun or show gun … ?

Q4)        Moving on, slightly: the Gatling gun, a very early machine gun, was first used in which country’s civil war … ?

Q5)        Other machine guns — like the Maxim, Vickers and Chuchat — saw  their first widespread use in which 20th Century war … ?

Q6)        What name is given to the grooves found in many gun barrels … ?

Q7)        What do those grooves improve about a bullet … ?

Q8)        People who smoke will have a relative of the flintlock gun in their pocket.   What is it … ?

Q9)        Which science fiction series had an episode called Spectre of the Gun … ?

Q10)        Name either of the bands to release a version of the song, The Guns Of Navarone, in the UK.

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 14th May saw the administration of the world’s first vaccination: against which disease?

A1) Smallpox.

Q2) In which year of the 1790s was this … ?

A2) 1796.

Q3) Who was the English doctor who developed and administered the vaccine … ?

A3) Edward Jenner.

Q4) He developed the vaccine from a lesion of a sufferer from which disease … ?

A4) Cowpox.

Q5) The word ‘vaccine’, comes from the word ‘vacca’: the Latin word for what … ?

A5) ‘cow’.

Q6) Finally … in which year did the World Health Organization declare the disease in question to have been eradicated … ?

A6) 1980.

I’ll leave you with this thought from Bill Hicks …

“England, where no one has guns; fourteen deaths. United States — and I think you know how we feel about guns; whoo! I’m gettin’ a stiffy — 23,000 deaths from handguns. But there’s no connection, and you’d be a fool and a communist to make one.”

Bill Hicks.

And with Sten Guns In Knightsbridge

Have a good day.

*        I’ve got to admit to thoroughly enjoying the digital media thing, Debbi: the combination of iTunes, Mac, iPod and TV are very handy.   AND let me listen to some of the odder web-based radio stations†.   And saves space on DVDs shelves!   I have to admit, though, I usually go for print books, over digital.   That’s a matter of money, though: my iPod’s screen isn’t exactly book sized, I can’t necessarily afford a Kindle … and Brentwood Library’s not THAT far …

†        There’s a couple of House stations‡ that are quite good to listen to, while writing …

‡        Actually, I’ve just been listening to Radio 4.   Nick Clegg’s got a community sentence for arson … !