Dunstanburgh

TUESDAY 11 DECEMBER 2007

TRIVIA
By some spooky coincidence probably summoned up from the depths of Hell by the Lord of Darkness himself (Jim Davidson), I received two emails on the same subject on the same day. Both Hildie and Maureen sent me some whacko! examples of complete and utter trivia. Along with everyone else, they’re obviously aware that I’m an inveterate snapper-up of unconsidered trifles..........(to break off here for a moment......who invented the expression snapper-up of unconsidered trifles? I’ve got a feeling it was Gilbert (and Sullivan) but no-one seems to know.......AND No, Loz, by ‘unconsidered trifles’ I don’t mean tuna and caramel trifle......)

Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes – my trivia ladies. I’ve already quoted several of their examples on-air and they’ve caused quite a bruhaha what with one thing and another. Here’s a reminder...

• the longest word typable with the left hand is stewardesses;
• the right hand’s longest typable word is lollipop;
• dreamt is the only word in English that ends with –mt
• no other words rhyme with orange, silver, month, purple or – as we discovered yesterday – chimney.

Other unrhymable words have been suggested since; Alan (in Hexham) suggests angst and scalp but there are difficulties with both of them. Angst is surely a loanword from German (where it means ‘anxiety’). The point at which a foreign loanword becomes ‘English’ is debatable. Are restaurant and pizza ‘English’ words? And what about alp, which is one high mountain? I’d be interested to know your views on this.

If alp is English, it rhymes with scalp, of course. And even if it isn’t, palp (apparently, the mouthparts of a mollusc) also rhymes with it. Sorry Alan. Good try!

I’ll be sprinkling the programmes up to Christmas with delicious trifles like these. Here are some of Hildie’s for you to get to grips with...

• bats always turn left when flying out of a cave;
• taking an afternoon nap can cut the risk of heart disease;
• restaurant is the most mis-spelled word on internet searches;
• only 13% of us now go out on Saturday nights.

CHRISTMAS
The Nightshift will be running normally almost throughout the festive season – except on Christmas morning (because I’ll be on-air ‘live’ on Christmas Day from 1000 to 1400) and on New Year’s Day. If there’s a Christmas record you’d like to hear, either on The Nightshift or on Christmas Day, get in touch. I’m also keen to hear your ideas about features and items you’d like me to cover over the Christmas season. So don’t be backward in coming forward.

I’ve already decided, for example, that we’re going to have a Total Trivia Festival. So......get your utterly useless information and trivia to me NOW!

AND FINALLY...
Don’t forget to send me any digital photographs of the north-east that you would like to see at the top of each blog-posting. Try and make them as small as possible – as far below 1MB as you can – and email them to me here. Thankyou.

CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or contact me in any one (or more) of these ways....
ian.robinson@bbc.co.uk
text 07786 200954 (while the programme is on-air)
call (between about 0545 and 0630 Monday to Friday) 0191 232 6565
Ian Robinson, The Nightshift, BBC Radio Newcastle, Spital Tongues, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE99 1RN

NOTE
Please bear in mind that the views expressed in this blog are my own and NOT the views of the BBC.