User:Katherine

(manual watch-list)

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Things I learned today
Time gentlemen, please*

Ever wondered why Coordinated Universal Time—that time standard which is not really GMT but means the same to normal people—is known as UTC? It's a compromise, between the English Coordinated Universal Time and the French Temps Universel Coordonné. A very fortunate compromise too. CUT and TUC just sound silly. But UTC? That's science. An acronym you can trust. Even if it is the linguistic version of "If you two can't share your toys nicely, nobody gets to play".

One of these things is not like the others*

In law, the canon ejusdem generis governs the interpretation of a phrase in a statute where general terms follow specific terms. To take the example of the phrase "cars, motor bikes, motor powered vehicles", the latter term is limited in scope to items of the same type or class as the former. So, a Vespa would be included, but Starbug would not. An example of this principle in action can be seen in the delightfully snarky and brilliant letter sent to the FBI by Mike Godwin, general counsel for the Wikimedia Foundation and originator of the time-tested maxim of online discussion,Godwin's law of Nazi analogies.

Should we talk about the weather?*

The highest temperature ever recorded in Australia was 50.7 °C (123 °F) at Oodnadatta in 1960. The lowest? −23 °C (−9.4 °F) at Charlotte Pass, in 1994. If I had to choose one of those, I'd rather be in Oodnadatta.

'''Yeah, hi... is Al there?*'''

The Simpsons character Moe Szyslak is based on Louis "Red" Deutsch, former heavyweight boxer and owner of the Tube Bar inJersey City. A series of prank calls made to Deutsch in the 1970s was the inspiration for one of the show's early running gags.

Did you really read all the way down to the end of my user page? Were you expecting a prize? You could tell me all about it on my talk page.[  ], if that's what you want to do.