QI is back!

QI, one of my absolutely favourite quizzes, is back (tonight 10.00 pm on BBC2) with the 5th series of its usual humorous misconception-dispersing squabble.

As a reminder, here are few episodes from the previous series...


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Word Puzzle: Stripping the Word

What English word is nine letters long, and can remain an English word at each step as you remove one letter at a time, right down to a single letter. List the letter you remove each time and the words that result at each step.



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Solution: see comment no.3
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Simply Solving the Puzzle

by Vic Johnson


When most young children are given a puzzle to solve or put together that is especially challenging, most will make a good effort at solving it, but if unsuccessful will soon lose interest and abandon it. Some will even become angry at their failure to solve it and may throw a tantrum.



Contrast that with the experienced puzzle player who proceeds to put the puzzle together with an air of certain confidence that they will complete it. They know that they have all of the pieces of the puzzle before them so it is only a matter of finding out which pieces work where and once that's done the puzzle will be complete. Putting a piece in the wrong place is not a cause for concern; it's simply another step toward putting all of the pieces in their proper place.

I think of all the times in my life when I acted like a young child in dealing with the current puzzle in my life. Instead of turning over and trying the next piece, I got angry and walked away from the puzzle, seeing the puzzle as a problem instead of as an opportunity.

Napoleon Hill, author of the classic Think and Grow Rich, knew Thomas Edison and Henry Ford personally. He said of both men that the ONLY thing that was different about them from everyone else was their persistence. Which gives rise to an interesting thought. Where would our civilization be today if either man had treated his puzzles like the impatient young child?

If you don't have all of the pieces of your puzzle on the table, then stop, identify them and get them on the table before proceeding. If, however, you've got them on the table, then take the approach of the experienced puzzle player. When they don't fit -- don't quit -- try another piece or move them to another place. While you're at it, learn another valuable lesson from great puzzle players. They don't just enjoy completing the puzzle; they delight in putting it together.

Napoleon Hill thought Persistence was a pretty important key to success -- he used the word 97 times in Think and Grow Rich and he devoted an entire chapter to it. Some of his wisdom includes, "The majority of people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard, and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune. A few carry on DESPITE all opposition, until they attain their goal. These few are the Fords, Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Edisons. There may be no heroic connotation to the word "persistence," but the quality is to the character of man what carbon is to steel."

And that's worth thinking about.
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To learn more, go to http://yoursuccessstore.com/ThinkandGrowRich

Or get it FREE for signing up for Success University newsletter HERE

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Logic Puzzle: Yum, Arsenic!

In a far away land, it was known that if you drank poison, the only way to save yourself is to drink a stronger poison, which neutralizes the weaker poison.



The king that ruled the land wanted to make sure that he possessed the strongest poison in the kingdom, in order to ensure his survival, in any situation. So the king called the kingdom's pharmacist and the kingdom's treasurer, he gave each a week to make the strongest poison. Then, each would drink the other one's poison, then his own, and the one that will survive, will be the one that had the stronger potion.

The pharmacist went straight to work, but the treasurer knew he had no chance, for the pharmacist was much more experienced in this field, so instead, he made up a plan to survive and make sure the pharmacist dies. On the last day the pharmacist suddenly realized that the treasurer would know he had no chance, so he must have a plan. After a little thought, the pharmacist realized what the treasurer's plan must be, and he concocted a counter plan, to make sure he survives and the treasurer dies.

When the time came, they king summoned both of them. They drank the potions as planned, and the treasurer died, the pharmacist survived, and the king didn't get what he wanted.

What exactly happened?


The solution will be revealed in 24 hours.

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SOLUTION: The correct answer was sent by Kian, a 5-year-old child genius (comment no.2). Not only is he a mental wizzard, but also the author of these fantastic blogs:
Map The Famous
A Little Journey
Comedy Greats

Well done!

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The Power of Feeling Good

by song chengxiang


Today I am going to share a powerful lesson that you can
use to immediately achieve any success you want in your
life. And I promise you that if you do what I suggest you
do, your success is guaranteed.



You will have everything you want in your life and enjoy
the total fulfillment that you deserve. Remember this…
there is no limit to what you can have, be and do. Every
thing you can imagine, you can achieve. And you are going
to find out how to do it now...

Feeling excited? Let’s play a “what if” game. What if you
could ask 100 of the most successful people in the world
whether there was a single magic secret to success? What if
they told you there was? What if they all gave you the same
answer? Are you willing to do what they suggest you do?

Well I don't know what they will tell you, but I do know,
from years of studying the most successful people, that
there is one single most important factor that contributes
to more of their success than any other factors combined,
and anyone can use it to achieve his success no matter who
he is, or what his current conditions are.

You must be eager to know what this secret is. Let me tell
you now.

Listen Up!

The single most important factor for successful people is
simply feeling good.

If success is really that simple, then why are so many
people struggling?

That is a good question. We have been taught that in order
to achieve something, we have to suffer first. It has been
said, no pain no gain. But I tell you this ...That is
ABSOLUTELY false.

Look at the life of a highly successful person. Is he
suffering, is he struggling? If he is, then I can assure
you that he is not successful in the area that he is
struggling against. He may look successful in a certain
area, but very unsuccessful in others. Have you ever seen a
multimillionaire who is suffering from bad health? Why does
that happen? He has all the money he needs to hire the best
doctors in the world, why is he still suffering from ill
health?

Here is what‘s really happening…

He is highly successful financially, because he feels
really good about himself in the financial area; he is
unsuccessful physically, because he feels bad about his
health.

The point I want to make is this. If you notice someone who
is extremely successful in one area, then you will be
certain to notice he feels great about himself in that
area. He has been conditioned to feel good in that area,
just like most people have been conditioned to struggle in
some areas of life.

If you are still not convinced, perhaps you can think of it
this way. How do you define success? It is certainly not
just about setting a goal and achieving it. That is
important, but it’s only part of the story. Success in my
definition and in most successful people's definition is
about enjoying a state of well-being in every moment of our
existence. It all comes down to a state of feeling good.
You may not agree with me, you may consider success as
having a million dollars in your bank account; you may
consider success as being famous as a public figure. Then
let me ask you a question: “why do you want a million
dollars?”, or “why do you want to be a famous person?” If
you think hard about this question, you will find that all
you want is simply to feel good.

Here is the big mistake that most people make. They think
they are going to be happy once they get that million
dollars, they think they will be happy once they become a
superstar. But when they reach that goal, they feel a
moment of excitement, and finally they realize that that is
all there is. And then they set a higher goal, and wish
they will be happy once they reach that goal. They will
never be happy as long as they don’t change their approach.

Then what is the right approach?

Since your ultimate goal is to feel good, then why not
choose to feel good right now? How do you do that? It is
simply by choosing to feel good at this moment. It is as
simple as that. People have spent great amounts of money
searching for techniques and strategies to make them
successful, but they forget that the most powerful tool is
the most fundamental; it is simply feeling good.

You may say "it is easier said than done, how can I feel
good if I am broke?" If that is how you think, here is my
answer to you... There are only two kinds of feeling we
experience every day. One is feeling good, and one is
feeling bad.

Good feelings send a powerful signal to the universe, and
through the law of attraction, you will attract people,
circumstances and events to match your state of feeling
good. Bad feelings also send a powerful signal to the
universe to bring back people, circumstances and events to
match your state of feeling bad.

Have you seen that?

Feelings are the causes, conditions are the effects.

You cannot get away from being broke if you are feeling
bad. You only reinforce the cause.

So begin to feel good one way or another, no matter what
conditions you are in.

At the moment you choose to feel good, amazing things will
happen.

If you don't believe me, try it. You have nothing to lose.

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Song Chengxiang is the author of popular online
ebooks "Rapid Manifestation" and "The Lost secrets of
Manifestation". His words have helped thousands of people
greatly change the quality of their lives and manifest
their true desires easily and effortlessly. He has recently
developed a powerful mind programming system- Quantum Mind
Power, with a top brainwave entrainment Engineer Morry
Zelcovitch. Check out this amazing new system and get a
FREE 5 part Quantum Mind Power ecourse HERE

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Riddle: What's going on?

30 men with ladies two
Gathered for a festive do.
Dressed quite formal, black and white,
Yet movement turned to nasty fight.
What's going on? Read more!

The Power of Appreciation

by song chengxiang


There is a powerful force within each one of us that you
can use to overcome any obstacles, no matter how bad the
situation is. Once you know how powerful this force is and
how it works, you will never have to worry about anything
in your life, no fears, no worries, and no anxieties. Life
becomes an easy and fulfilling process. You start to enjoy
your life; you start to enjoy every moment of your
existence.



Are you getting excited about knowing what this power is?
The powerful force that I am making reference to is “The
power of appreciation.”

Yes, it is the power of appreciation. If you want to win,
and win big in life, you have to know the power of
appreciation, and you have to know how it works, and live
by it. This is the secret weapon that you can use to win
the battle of life, no matter how bad your current
circumstances are. Don’t let its simplicity fool you. Just
this one simple idea will completely change your life.

Ok, let me make a clear statement, let it enter your
subconscious mind. “No matter what circumstance you
encounter, no matter what situation you are in, you always
have the choice of finding something to appreciate in it,
and you can immediately change your point of attraction at
that moment!”

Remember, the quality of your life is determined by the
quality of this moment. And you have a choice in every
moment. You can choose to feel depressed and unhappy, or
you can choose to find something to appreciate, and change
your point of attraction immediately.

OK, now you ask “How can I find something to appreciate?”

Let’s do a simple exercise…

Stop whatever you are doing now, find something right here
that you can appreciate. Go ahead, find something.

Have you got it? If you haven’t, let me remind you of
something. No matter who you are, and where you are, I can
assure you that you at least have one thing to appreciate,
just because you are reading this. Have you got it? Yes!
You got it… It is the internet! How wonderful it is that we
can have access to the internet and find literally any
information we want in minutes. Now, stop for a moment, and
really feel it. What does that make you feel? Think about
how fortunate you are, compared to those people living in
third world countries where they don’t even have a
computer. Hold on to the good feeling for a few seconds,
really feel it. If you can keep it for 17 seconds, your
life will dramatically change. I guarantee you.

This is just an example to demonstrate how you can find
something to appreciate anytime and anywhere. It is
actually very simple, it only takes a few seconds here and
a few seconds there, and your life will never be the same.
You will find yourself full of energy and happiness.

Appreciate the food that you eat, appreciate the air that
you breathe, appreciate the sunshine, appreciate the
relationship that you are in, appreciate the room that you
are sitting in. Appreciate everything.

Well, you may say “The food that I eat is not as good as
what the rich eat”,“the air that I breathe is not as good
as the air in another city”, “the relationship that I am in
is not as fulfilling as it should be”, “the room that I
live in is not as big as I want”. Maybe all these are true,
but it is true only because you have chosen to perceive it
this way. And the important thing is you can perceive it in
a different way right at this moment. Ok, think about the
food you are eating. DO you know there are millions of
children in Africa who do not have enough to eat? Think
about the relationship that you are in. Don’t you remember
that last time your partner gave you a hug when you were
facing a major challenge? Don’t you remember all the
wonderful things that your partner has done for you over
the years? Instead of focusing on what he/she did wrong,
why not focus on what he/she did right? More importantly,
appreciate him/her; appreciate what your partner has done
for you.

So you get my point, there are always positive and negative
aspects to any circumstances or any people, you can either
focus on the negativities and blame what is wrong, or you
can choose to appreciate the positive aspect and what is
right. This will make a big difference to the quality of
your life. I have to repeat, don’t let the simplicity of
this idea fool you, practise appreciating here and there,
and you will find miracles in your life.

--------
Song Chengxiang is the author of popular online
ebooks "Rapid Manifestation" and "The Lost secrets of
Manifestation". His words have helped thousands of people
greatly change the quality of their lives and manifest
their true desires easily and effortlessly. He has recently
developed a powerful mind programming system- Quantum Mind
Power, with a top brainwave entrainment Engineer Morry
Zelcovitch. Check out this amazing new system and get a
FREE 5 part Quantum Mind Power ecourse HERE

Read more!

IDEAS

by Jim Rohn

If you wish to find, you must search. Rarely does a good idea interrupt you.

Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need is just one more good idea.

Ideas are information taking shape.



When a new idea comes our way, we must put it on our mental scales and weigh it carefully before deciding its value.

One of the secrets to success is ideas mixed with inspiration.

Nothing is more powerful for your future than being a gatherer of good ideas and information. That's called doing your homework.

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These quotes are by Jim Rohn, America's Foremost Business Philosopher. To subscribe to the Free Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine, go to www.jimrohn.com or send a blank email to subscribe@jimrohn.com Excerpted from The Treasury of Quotes by Jim Rohn. Copyright © 1994-2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. Read more!

The Elegant Universe

This program was created in 2003, but as I've just discovered it and watched the first hour (it's 3 hours long), I have to share it with anyone interested in "how the universe works".



It's all about the String theory - the theory of everything that unites the 2 sets of laws that don't agree.

The first part is called Einstein's Dream and it follows his quest to unify the laws of gravity and electromagnetism...

Watch it here: The Elegant Universe

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10 Ways to Kink Your Vibe

by Jeannette Maw


In order to get what you want, it’s essential to have a vibration aligned to that.
Many aren’t aware of their vibration or the role it plays in creating life experiences.
An misaligned vibe keeps people in a rut and prevents dreams, miracles, and other good things from happening.



Here are ten ways you may be sabotaging your vibe:

1. Worrisome thoughts – Anxious, concerned, and fearful thoughts disconnect you from source energy, bringing you closer to the things you don’t want in life.
Habitual negative thinking is the primary culprit for a polluted vibration.

2. Doing what you “have to” – Doing things you don’t want to do, either out of obligation or because you believe you “have to,” creates resistance and other disturbances in your energy.

3. Following the “rules” or doing what you “should” – When we follow someone else’s instruction and ignore our own guidance, we run the risk of kinking our vibration. This is particularly easy to do when it comes to food, exercise, medical advice, social etiquette and other basic activities in life.

4. Playing the martyr – Withholding good things from yourself and refraining from enjoyment of life is another way to cut off your connection to source energy and kink the vibe.

5. Tolerating others – The act of tolerating anything is a drain on your energy, especially when it’s people you’d rather not be around.

6. Isolating yourself from nature – Your connection to source wilts when you sequester yourself from nature. Uninterrupted exposure to concrete, artificial lighting, stale air, etc. doesn’t allow for energetic rejuvenation.

7. Being hard on yourself – Feeling guilty, embarrassed, disappointed or angry with yourself is a sure-fire way to contaminate your vibration. Negative emotions directed inward are toxic to healthy personal energy.

8. Being a news/TV junkie – Exposing yourself to the standard negative news and social gossip takes a strong toll on the vibration. Many popular TV shows also assail energy with regular violence and sarcasm.

9. Harboring resentment – Continual feelings of resentment toward a situation, person or group kinks up the vibe over time. That includes parents, bosses, religious groups, foreign countries, etc.

10. Disorganized physical space – A chaotic environment subtly but relentlessly chisels away at a healthy vibration. Spending time in an atmosphere that doesn’t feel good will deplete your energy over time, affecting your vibration as well.

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Jeannette Maw is an Attraction Coach and founder of Good Vibe Coaching who teaches clients the three secrets to getting what they want, once and for all. Get powerful tips and strategies to manifest your dreams by signing up for the free “Get What You Want” ezine at http://www.goodvibecoach.com

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