Project Education 365: Learn One New Thing Every Day - Update
So, the last time I posted, I had learnt 3 things. In my opinion, all of them are relatively useful. Here are things I have learnt since:
January 4th:
Koinonia is a Christian religious principle that refers to the sense of community and fellowship created by the dynamic of a congregation. Literally, it translates from the Greek as “intimate participation” and I can see how it is relevant - sharing one’s faith is quite an intimate act - however it suggests something a little more euphemistic and *ahem* un-Christian to me.
January 5th:
Oats have a property whereby consuming them can help to absorb excess fat floating around in the digestive system, such that they act like a sort of natural version of one of these fat-binding agents people are buying in an attempt to lose weight.
January 6th:
Coffins are remarkably expensive, especially if they’re made of solid oak. Most coffins are therefore simply veneered in the good stuff and are made from something cheap underneath, but they’re still very expensive. Consequently, I have decided that if I cannot be set afloat on a funeral pyre down a river of my choice, I will be cremated in a wicker basket.
January 7th:
Yoga is hard. Anything that involves a lunging motion, however seemingly gentle, is just not compatible with a maltracking right patella. Loud clunking, crunching and grinding sounds will be heard, and excrutiating pain will be experienced.
January 8th:
Researchers in physics are apparently quite close to establishing, I think through the Higgs Bozon research and the God particle stuff, whether our perception of the world is really how it is, or if it’s just something we’ve fabricated in our minds to make sense of something that looks a bit weird.
January 9th:
Based on my height etc, my stride length is 26 inches (65cm). This means it takes me approximately 1200 steps to walk a kilometre.
January 10th:
There is a type of fish that, in order to conceal itself from predators, hides inside the bottom of a sea cucumber.
January 11th:
Dermatological cream is better for treating dry winter skin and eczema than any purpose-made eczema moisturiser. Foot cream is also a better moisturiser for especially dry skin than face cream.
January 12th:
Emeritus professor at the University of Sheffield, John David Mclean, was instrumental in the decision to ordinate women into the Christian priesthood.
January 13th:
Having undertaken a “coloured thinking” exercise at work, I learned that I am a red. This means I’m spontaneous, instinctive, bold, witty, creative, an explorer/adventurous type… It reads more or less like a perfect dating profile, really.
January 14th:
If applying for Mastermind (or, in the case of celebrities, asked to go on it), it is always better to choose a small specialist subject than a broad one. For example, it would be wiser to choose “Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights” as a specialist subject than “The literary works of the Bronte sisters”.
