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07 October 2005
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The flag of Burundi has a basic white saltaire that divides the field into four areas, two green, and two red. In the center is a circle that contains three stars which stand for the three major ethnic groups of Burundi: the Hutu, the Twa and the Tutsi. The three stars also stand for the three elements of the national motto: unity, work and progress.
Every infantryman in the Soviet Army carries with him a small spade. When he is given the order to halt he immediately lies flat and starts to dig a hole in the ground beside him. In three minutes he will have dug a little trench 15 centimetres deep, in which he can lie stretched out flat, so that bullets can whistle harmlessly over his head. The earth he has dug out forms a breastwork in front and at the side to act as an additional cover. If a tank drives over such a trench the soldier has a 50% chance that it will do him no harm. At any moment the soldier may be ordered to advance again and, shouting at the top of his voice, will rush ahead. If he is not ordered to advance, he digs in deeper and deeper. At first his trench can be used for firing in the lying position. Later it becomes a trench from which to fire in the kneeling position, and later still, when it is 110 centimetres deep, it can be used for firing in the standing position. The earth that has been dug out protects the soldier from bullets and fragments. He makes an embrasure in this breastwork into which he positions the barrel of his gun. In the absence of any further commands he continues to work on his trench. He camouflages it. He starts to dig a trench to connect with his comrades to the left of him. He always digs from right to left, and in a few hours the unit has a trench linking all the riflemen's trenches together. The unit's trenches are linked with the trenches of other units. Dug-outs are built and communication trenches are added at the rear. The trenches are made deeper, covered over, camouflaged and reinforced. Then, suddenly, the order to advance comes again. The soldier emerges, shouting and swearing as loudly as he can.
Upper class ancient Egyptians were often entombed with a board game called Senet, so they would have something to do in the afterlife. Also, if you want to make a mummy, you pull the brain out through the nose.
In the climatic scene of the movie Casablanca, mechanics can been seen in the far background working on a plane. This plane was a 2/3rds scale model and the mechanics are midgets, hired after the director found the plane too fake looking.
On Oct. 8, 1912 (tomorrow!), Millie McKoy died of tuberculosis at the age of 61 in Columbus County, North Carolina. Joined at the pelvis with her sister Christine, who died the following day, the pair had been born into slavery and traveled the world singing and performing as the "Carolina Nightingale."
Chimerism is a medical anomaly where one individual posesses 2 sets of DNA. It is believed that it occurs when 2 separate eggs fuse soon after fertilization - in effect 2 separate individuals become 1.
The band: A thin strip of flexible material used to encircle and bind one object or to hold a number of objects together. A strip or stripe that contrasts with something else in color, texture, or material. A narrow strip of fabric used to trim, finish, or reinforce articles of clothing. Something that constrains or binds morally or legally. A simple ungrooved ring, especially a wedding ring. A collar. A chromatically, structurally, or functionally differentiated strip or stripe in or on an organism. A cordlike tissue that connects or holds structures together. A specific range of wavelengths or frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. A range of very closely spaced electron energy levels in solids, the distribution and nature of which determine the electrical properties of a material. Any of the distinct grooves on a long-playing phonograph record that contains an individual selection or a separate section of a whole. A cord or strip across the back of a book to which the sheets or quires are attached. A group of people. A group of animals. A unit of social organization especially among hunter-gatherers, consisting of a usually small number of families living together cooperatively. An aboriginal group officially recognized as an organized unit. A group of musicians who perform as an ensemble.
Bette Nesmith Graham, mother of The Monkees drummer Michael Nesmith, invented correction fluid (white-out).
Michael Nesmith was the Monkees guitarist. He always wore that silly woolen cap. He was tall. He could actually play the guitar. Mickey Dolenz was the Monkees pseudo-drummer. He wasn't tall, didn't wear a hat, and couldn't actually play.