Interesting stuff about different countries.

• Average inhabitant of Switzerland eats more than 10 kg of chocolate a year.
• Name 'Kalash' appeared in some African countries in honor of Kalashnikov rifle.
•  There is area named Hell in Norway.
• 'Spain' is translated as 'The land of rabbits'.
• It is prohibited to sell dolls with inhuman faces in France.
• National Orchestra of Monaco consists of more people than its army.
• Flag of Alaska was invented by 13-year-old boy.
• Guinness World Records is the most popular book among library thieves.
• Some public toilets in Singapore have karaoke.

Did you know...?

A census in 1920 revealed that fewer than one Eskimo in 46 has ever seen an igloo.
Anyone in England who reaches the age of 105 will receive a telegram from the Queen or King on every birthday.
The average US marriage lasts about 9.4 years.
In the USA Christmas did not become a national holiday until 1890.
In Taiwan a third of all funeral processions feature a stripper!

Please choose a country and find out some interesting trivia about their customs and traditions.

Short Story links

The Carpet Fitter, a gruesome short story!
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/fitter.htm

American Pepper, hope you have a strong stomach!!
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/reading/pepper.htm

Homework for Friday 20th!

Hi guys!

Read the three texts below and comment on which ever seems the most interesting to you. You could speculate about what will happen next in the text... and on Friday we will find out which text is most popular...

The Carpet Fitter

  Eddie was a carpet fitter, and he hated it. For ten years he had spent his days sitting, squatting, kneeling or crawling on floors, in houses, offices, shops, factories and restaurants. Ten years of his life, cutting and fitting carpets for other people to walk on, without even seeing them. When his work was done, no-one ever appreciated it. No- one ever said "Oh, that's a beautiful job, the carpet fits so neatly." They just walked all over it. Eddie was sick of it.

     He was especially sick of it on this hot, humid day in August, as he worked to put the finishing touches to today's job. He was just cutting and fixing the last edge on a huge red carpet which he ...

The Hitchhiker

  As Andrea turned off the motorway onto the road to Brockbourne, the small village in which she lived, it was four o'clock in the afternoon, but already the sun was falling behind the hills. At this time in December, it would be completely dark by five o'clock. Andrea shivered. The interior of the car was not cold, but the trees bending in the harsh wind and the patches of yesterday's snow still heaped in the fields made her feel chilly inside. It was another ten miles to the cottage where she lived with her husband Michael, and the dim light and wintry weather made her feel a little lonely. She would have liked to listen to the radio, but it had been stolen from her car when it was parked outside her office in London about two weeks ago, and she had not got around to replacing it yet.

     She was just coming out of the little village of Mickley when she saw the old lady, standing by the road, with a crude hand-written sign saying "Brockbourne" in her hand. Andrea was surprised. She ...

The American Pepper

    "Mummy! Mummy!" shouted little Murna racing from the front door through to the kitchen. "There's a parcel. The postman's brought a parcel!"

      Her mother, Savni, looked at her in surprise. She had no idea who could have sent them a parcel. Maybe it was a mistake. She hurried to the door to find out. Sure enough, the postman was there, holding a parcel about the size of a

small brick.

      "From America, madam," he said. "See! American stamps."

      It was true. In the top right-hand corner of the brown paper parcel were three strange-looking stamps, showing a man's head. The package was addressed to Savni, in big, clear black letters.

      "Well, I suppose it must be from Great-Aunt Pasni," said Savni to herself, as the postman went on his way down the street, whistling. "Although it must be twenty years since we heard anything from her. I thought she would have been dead by now."