“Obviously,a much more polite trivia crowd (C8) in Aiden Cuddington’s Umima,” reckons Robert Hosking of Paddington. “Our default non-PC answer isDebbie Does Dallas or 26 after I fluked it as a guess in a tie-break! And our quizmaster is much more likely to take a point off,after a rude reference to our aged team! (And then explaining to any newcomers that it’s OK to be rude to us,after all,we have been irritating him for over 15 years).”
Joy Cooksey of Harrington has a rather doomsdayesque theory regarding the Harbour Bridge query from Paul Walsh:“The Artic Store sign is possibly just another climate change safeguard in case everything goes pear-shaped and the world freezes over in a nuclear winter.” John McCartney of Mount Coolum (Qld) is on it:“The Arctic Store on the Harbour Bridge is featured on the company’s website – with no explanation as to its purpose,unfortunately. PS:I have asked them.”
It’s 1952 and Barry Wooldridge of Harden is in year 6 and sitting an external exam for a high school scholarship. “One question asked for the International Date Line to be drawn on a supplied map. I knew nothing of any IDL but I reasoned that dates grew in Egypt so I drew a line showing the international route of dates transported from Cairo to Sydney. My resourcefulness did not win me a scholarship.”
“My wife’s octogenarian aunt visited a craft group in Maitland recently after moving to the area a few years ago,” writes Denis Sullivan of Greystanes. “In conversation with the lady next to her,she was asked where she was originally from. Aunt says Hay,NSW. Another lady within earshot asked ‘Did you say Hay? I had a cousin marry a girl from Hay.’ ‘Oh’,says the aunt. ‘What was his name?’ She replies ‘Maurie Rath’. The aunt says ‘That girl would be me!’”
Continuing the discussion regardingthat law firm (C8),Eric Scott of Bondi Junction insists that “The names used to be arranged in alphabetical order,John Affleck. I had occasion to deal with them in 1975 and recall the reception answering,with no hesitation,‘Bull,Schmidt&Co’. I am sure there is a C8 reader with an old White Pages who can back me up.”
Eureka! Michael Miller of Ettalong Beach says the WD in WD-40 (C8) stands for Water Displacement. And he’s right.
Column8@smh.com.au
No attachments,please. Include
name,suburb and daytime phone