:arrgh!: this is a hijack :arrgh!:

:o Tests continue to find out what killed the whale :hmm:

'Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza.' BBC.

An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall.
Leon Wright and his wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of sperm whales
and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up.

Sought after because of its rarity, ambergris can float on the ocean for years before washing ashore.
Worth up to $20 a gram, Mr Wright's find on a South Australian beach could net his family US$295,000 (£165,300).

Floating gold ? ...............................
Mythologised for thousands of years, ambergris has been referred to as "floating gold" by scientists and scavengers
who long for a windfall amid the surf.

Expelled from the abdomen of the giant sperm whale, often while hundreds of kilometres away from land,
ambergris is a natural excrement thought to be used by the whale as a digestion aid. After 10 years, it's
considered clean and all you're getting then is the wonderful musky, very sweet perfume, which I've
got to say is ultra smooth - it's unbelievable."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/4642722.stm

I'm off to the Thames with my shrimping-net ! :-j

''Whale died from 'multiple causes'' BBC.

A post-mortem examination on the whale which became stranded in the River Thames showed it died from
a combination of problems. These included dehydration, muscle damage and failing kidneys.

ZSL's veterinary pathologist Dr Paul Jepson, who carried out the post-mortem tests, said: "Whales and dolphins
obtain water from their food, and northern bottle-nosed whales normally feed on deep water squid in the Atlantic Ocean.

"This animal would not have been able to feed while in the North Sea and so would have become dehydrated."
Laboratory tests are continuing to see if the whale had any bacterial or viral infection, and for pollutants
such as heavy metals.

Dr Jepson added: "The last few days have been an unforgettable and ultimately sad experience for us all,
and we are now determined that the whale did not die in vain.

"The incident has demonstrated a clear message of the nation's passion for these animals and their conservation."

Wing Nut remembers a Pied Piper incident.
(Ben Macintyre.)

Reminiscing about 'The West Wing' in the face of its imminent demise Ben reminded us of the sort
of things that saved the series from sanctimony. A healthy dose of self -mockery and a knack for bringing
its holy characters down to size.

In one early episode, Sam and Josh, spin-doctor and deputy chief of staff, are walking and talking breathlessly
down one of the West Wing's endless corridors, looking purposeful and important. Then they stop.
Sam: Where are you going ?
Josh: Where are you going ?
Sam: I was following you.
Josh: I was folllowing you.........(Pause.).......All right,..........dont tell anyone this happened, OK ?
:-j

:-j I regret moving off the 'Bilges' topic, so - Can you light a fart ?

The answer is yes, but be quick - Farts can travel at speeds of 10ft 3m a second. An average fart is 59 per cent
nitrogen, 21 per cent hydrogen, 9 per cent carbon dioxide, 7 per cent methane and 4 per cent oxygen.

The gas that makes farts smell is hydrogen sulphide. This gas, which is less than 1 per cent of the make-up of a fart,
contains sulphur, the smelly component. Foods that cause smelly farts include beans, cabbage, cheese, eggs, fizzy drinks.

A person produces about half a litre (1pt) of farts a day and most people pass gas about 14 times a day.

We should remembert Le Petomane made a stage career out of well-controlled flatulence. Le Petomane means
"the fartiste" or "the manic farter". See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_P%C3%A9tomane

NB. 'Fart'- n & v.i. (indecent) 'Emission of wind from the anus.' Oxford Dictionary.

bellman this thread is long dead :o

and lighting a fart im not even gunna try :d

:rotfl: .......Well I guess you are the ultimate arbiter in these matters.

Sorry if this is a 'Kap Free zone'..................on second thoughts. :hmm:

:lol: :-j

Guess a lot of us, past the first blush, cant resist a sideways look at the bathroom mirror en route to the shower.
You know, just checking nothings dropped off. ;)

Well nursing a hungover head I made that mistake - and got the shock of my life - heck 'Nipples' .........................
..............Where the **** did they spring from. (Beeing an observant sort of cove.)
Well the good 'ole BBC swots turned in an answer - so here it is for any of you natural borne worriers:-

Why do men have nipples?

Mark Leyner and Dr Billy Goldberg answer the questions you'd love to ask a doctor at a party - after a glass
or two of wine. Because we are mammals and blessed with body hair, three middle ear bones, and the ability
to nourish our young (sic :o ) with milk that females produce in modified sweat glands called mammary glands.

Now I know you two brain DW exponents probably know all this stuff but - Although females have the mammary
glands, we all start out in a similar way in the embryo. During development, the embryo follows a female
template until about six weeks, when the male sex chromosome kicks in for a male embryo. The embryo then begins
to develop all of its male characteristics. Men are thus left with nipples and also with some breast tissue.

Men can even get breast cancer and there are some medical conditions that can cause male breasts
to enlarge. Abnormal enlargement of the breasts in a male is known a gynecomastia. Gynecomastia
can be caused by using anabolic steroids. So, if your favourite athlete suddenly develops
man boobs and starts winning gold medals, you know the reason why.

Well heck I'm not looking at 'em - where's the elastoplast - fixed. ;)

:-j

fresh in bellman

around england in Jahre Viking the worlds largest super tanker see my post for details and screen shots and the log :up:

its in general topics

Posting some stuff on the Type 45 in 'General' it bacame apparent why she's got the handle ''Daring.''

According to Lt Cdr Dean Woodruff RN, who has been overseeing Daring's progress, she was something
''special ''for the Royal Navy. ' More space has been allocated for recreational areas including the first
purpose built fitness centre.' :huh: :o

'All ranks were asked what they would like on board Daring and 95% of their ideas have been incorporated.'

Wow - Neals gonna want to serve on her ;) Bars and pole-dancers.........................bring it on !!
Where do I sign ? :-j

E-fit artist starts hunt for burglar from outer space.
Morphed from the Times.

A burglary appears to have been committed by a Martian with a partialy-severed ear, five o'clock shadow and
a stick-on moustache from a christmas cracker. Have you seen him ?

Kim Rule, joint licensee of the Grebe pub in Stalham, Norfolk, has asked police to try harder with their computerised
image of the man she saw stealing two small safes from her premises. The e-fit picture was created from
a description of the intruder given to officers by Mrs Rule. She did not get a good look at his face, but she believes
that he was human. She fears that he will never be caught on the basis of such an inaccurate image.

Police have issued a picture of a man with the top of his right ear missing, tousled hair, dark heavy eyebrows
and a moustache offset and partly covering his top lip.

''He did'nt look that odd'' said his victim.'' ''We have some right charecters 'ere but I have never
seen anyone like that in Stalham or anywhere else in my life.

Apparently the problem with the moustache was that the police only had long moustaches on their computor
and had to sort of chop it off and fiddle around a bit.

Privately Norfolk police are highly amused at the image. And they acknowledge that if the felon really looks like that,
catching him will be a piece of cake , unless he's hot-footed it back to Mars.

:-j

Bellman is mildly.... ummm.... frightening. :o

:rotfl:

Oh yes very scarey ;)

.......................but then as James Thurber said.........................................''I come from haunts of Coot and Hern.'' :-j

PS. Sun 12th. Edited addition .
Always thought that 'hern' should be 'tern' but looked up the original cartoon and hern it is ! Of course
Thurbers choice of word merely tends to underlne the impression that the character, in the cartoon I hastily add,
is to say the least a trifle wacky.