Classroom conversations - say this when you're caught sleeping in class

Say this when you're caught sleeping in the classroom:

Teacher: Mr/Ms ____, must you fall asleep while I'm speaking?

Student: No Ma'am, it's purely voluntary.

This witty response is attributed to British politician and WWII leader Winston Churchill when he was dozing off at a meeting. Note that the teacher has to say something along the line above, or the response will be out of place.

(img thanks to jeanchoi)

Best sniper ever. - Simo Häyhä "The White Death"

Simo Hayha (1905-2002) is the best sniper who ever lived, accumulating over 505 (505 confirmed, 800 according to local figures) sniper kills and 200 submachine kills in his less-than-100-day stint during World War 2. He is Finnish, and was a farmer and hunter before joining the war.

What makes Simo Hayha the deadly sniper that he was? (sources 1 and 2)

1. He used iron sights rather than telescopic sights. While harder to aim, Hayha pointed out the benefits during a 2000 interview:

a. the scoped rifle forced him to raise his head a bit more than he liked, and this added profile might have given a Red Army sharpshooter too good of a target

b. sunlight glare in telescopic lenses will give away position

c. iron sights were not prone to breakage or fogging which was a real worry in the snow and ice of Finland during the Winter War.

d. he had always used iron sights and was used to them.

2. He blends in with the snow

a. he compacted the snow in front of him so that the shot wouldn't disturb the snow, thus revealing his position

b. he kept snow in his mouth so that when breathing he wouldn't reveal his position

As a result, read this Listverse snippet:

Of course when the Russians caught wind that a shit load of soldiers were being killed, they thought ‘well this is war, there’s bound to be casualties’. But when the generals were told that it was one man with a rifle they decided to take a bit of action. first they sent in a counter-sniper. When his body was returned they decided to send in a team of counter-snipers. When they didn’t come back at all they sent in a whole goddamn battalion. They took casualties and couldn’t find him. Eventually they ordered an artillery strike, but to no avail.

Eventually though he was shot in the jaw by a stray bullet during combat on March 6 1940. He was picked up by his own soldiers who said half his head was missing. He didn’t die however and regained consciousness on the 13th, the day peace was declared.

(image from this source)

Classroom conversations - say this when you are sitting in a class

An engineering student sat in an algebra class once because he had friends in that class. The professor came in and after a few minutes noticed that student. It so happened that the professor knew him from a past course, and said:

Prof: Mr. ___, are you sitting in in my class?
Student: No ma'am, I'm sitting down.

This did happen in university, shared by Eric Nabos.

How to live a longer life

One of the best TED talks I've heard. Listen to Dan Buettner share simple and practical longevity tips.

A revelation to me: Exercise (in the modern sense of the word) is not evident in the lives of the world's long-lived folks. :)

Usain Bolt, Japanese style

Funny Japanese show :)

Google's Nexus One phone is dubbed the "superphone" but a better phone is already out

Mike Arrington writes, "Google introduced the term 'superphone' to the world yesterday when they unveiled the Nexus One Google phone. Right from the beginning of the hour+ presentation, Google execs were referring to the Nexus One as the first 'superphone,' a term not previously widely used..."

The article title is "let's just skip to the super-duper-phone."

Now in relation to those, I find one user comment extremely hilarious:

Soon there will exist a device so powerful, amongst its features it’ll have a speaker capable of projecting voices several hundred yards… I call it the megaphone.

:)

Why Ninjas > Pirates

Here is why Ninjas > Pirates

AVATARIZE YOURSELF