# oddities (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 10 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover oddities. Page: Feed: --- ## [Checkmate](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/21/checkmate-2/) _2026-08-21 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ A puzzle by A. Savin, from the July-August 1996 issue of Quantum: A mother, her brother, her daughter, and her son take part in a family chess tournament. Two of the four are twins. At the end of the tournament, the winner and the “loser” (the player in last place) are found to be the same age, and the winner is the opposite gender to the loser’s twin. Who won the tournament? ## [Checkmate](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/21/checkmate-2/) _2026-08-21 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ A puzzle by A. Savin, from the July-August 1996 issue of Quantum: A mother, her brother, her daughter, and her son take part in a family chess tournament. Two of the four are twins. At the end of the tournament, the winner and the “loser” (the player in last place) are found to be the same age, and the winner is the opposite gender to the loser’s twin. Who won the tournament? ## [End to End](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/20/end-to-end/) _2026-08-20 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Read word by word, this sentence is a palindrome: Girl, bathing on Bikini, eyeing boy, finds boy eyeing bikini on bathing girl. From a New Statesman competition: Women understand men; few men understand women. God knows man. What is doubtful is what man knows God. Does milk machinery milk does? Bores are people that say that people are bores. A few more. ## [End to End](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/20/end-to-end/) _2026-08-20 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Read word by word, this sentence is a palindrome: Girl, bathing on Bikini, eyeing boy, finds boy eyeing bikini on bathing girl. From a New Statesman competition: Women understand men; few men understand women. God knows man. What is doubtful is what man knows God. Does milk machinery milk does? Bores are people that say that people are bores. A few more. ## [Layered Paper: Inkjet Printer Skew](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/20/layered-paper-inkjet-printer-skew/) _2026-08-20 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ Maybe three out of four ain't bad ## [All Right Then](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/20/all-right-then-8/) _2026-08-20 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Vicious Circles and Infinity, Patrick Hughes and George Brecht’s 1978 anthology of paradoxes, begins with this sentence: “The anthology has no particular axe to grind, apart from that of having no particular axe to grind.” ## [All Right Then](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/20/all-right-then-8/) _2026-08-20 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Vicious Circles and Infinity, Patrick Hughes and George Brecht’s 1978 anthology of paradoxes, begins with this sentence: “The anthology has no particular axe to grind, apart from that of having no particular axe to grind.” ## [THE LUXURY LIE: DON’T LET SOCIAL MEDIA FOOL YOU By Al Humphrey Onyanabo](https://nigeria360.com.ng/heart-of-the-matter/the-luxury-lie-dont-let-social-media-fool-you-by-al-humphrey-onyanabo/) _2026-08-19 · Al Humphrey · Nigeria 360_ THE LUXURY LIE: DON’T LET SOCIAL MEDIA FOOL YOU By Al Humphrey Onyanabo There is a dangerous lie being sold to Nigerian youths every day, and it is being sold largely through social media. It comes dressed in designer clothes, expensive cars, exotic holidays, champagne bottles, luxury apartments and pictures taken in places most people \[…\] The post THE LUXURY LIE: DON’T LET SOCIAL MEDIA FOOL YOU… ## [“Gloss”](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/19/gloss/) _2026-08-19 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ I know a little man both ept and ert. An intro-? extro? No, he’s just a vert. Sheveled and couth and kempt, pecunious, ane, His image trudes upon the ceptive brain. — David McCord ## [“Gloss”](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/19/gloss/) _2026-08-19 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ I know a little man both ept and ert. An intro-? extro? No, he’s just a vert. Sheveled and couth and kempt, pecunious, ane, His image trudes upon the ceptive brain. — David McCord ## [Open directory of blogs (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/JyiI8elQ3pRL) _2026-08-19 · **Sponsored**_ Drop URLs or OPML — get per-blog pages plus machine-readable JSON, OPML, text ## [Windows Update Troubles: It’s Not Just You](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/19/windows-update-troubles-its-not-just-you/) _2026-08-19 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ One might be inclined to consider a different OS for embedded applications ## [Having Words](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/19/having-words/) _2026-08-19 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ It’s said that Samuel Johnson resorted to unconventional methods to win a debate with a Billingsgate fishwife: He called her a noun, a pronoun, an adverb, and she hesitated. He vigorously charged her with being conjunction and preposition. She wavered. And when at length with stentorian voice he accused her to her face of being a parallelopipedon, she broke in disorder and fled in the utmost… ## [Having Words](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/19/having-words/) _2026-08-19 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ It’s said that Samuel Johnson resorted to unconventional methods to win a debate with a Billingsgate fishwife: He called her a noun, a pronoun, an adverb, and she hesitated. He vigorously charged her with being conjunction and preposition. She wavered. And when at length with stentorian voice he accused her to her face of being a parallelopipedon, she broke in disorder and fled in the utmost… ## [Dry](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/18/dry/) _2026-08-18 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ It has been claimed that only three people read the three volumes of Russell and Whitehead’s monumental Principia Mathematica in its entirety, namely Russell, Whitehead, and the proofreader. There has been some scepticism, however, about Russell and Whitehead belonging to the list. — Leo Moser, quoted in Howard Eves, Mathematical Circles Adieu, 1977 ## [Dry](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/18/dry/) _2026-08-18 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ It has been claimed that only three people read the three volumes of Russell and Whitehead’s monumental Principia Mathematica in its entirety, namely Russell, Whitehead, and the proofreader. There has been some scepticism, however, about Russell and Whitehead belonging to the list. — Leo Moser, quoted in Howard Eves, Mathematical Circles Adieu, 1977 ## [Kitchen Cupboard Tray Liners](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/18/kitchen-cupboard-tray-liners/) _2026-08-18 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ An eyeballometric fit was entirely Close Enough™ ## [OGOGO NEEDS US NOW: LET US STAND WITH A MAN WHO HAS STOOD FOR MANY](https://nigeria360.com.ng/art-craft/ogogo-needs-us-now-let-us-stand-with-a-man-who-has-stood-for-many/) _2026-08-18 · Al Humphrey · Nigeria 360_ OGOGO NEEDS US NOW: LET US STAND WITH A MAN WHO HAS STOOD FOR MANY By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo There are some people in the entertainment industry whose names are bigger than the characters they have played. Their presence becomes part of our collective memory. Their voices become familiar. Their faces become associated with an \[…\] The post OGOGO NEEDS US NOW: LET US STAND WITH A MAN WHO HAS STOOD… ## [Bhartrhari’s Paradox](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/18/bhartrharis-paradox/) _2026-08-18 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ There are some things that are unnameable. But it seems impossible to verify this by giving positive instances, because this would require us to name that which we have declared to be unnameable. From an observation by the fifth-century Indian grammarian and philosopher Bhartrhari. “\[E\]very argument advanced to support any instance of the unnameability thesis drives one still more firmly into the… ## [Bhartrhari’s Paradox](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/18/bhartrharis-paradox/) _2026-08-18 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ There are some things that are unnameable. But it seems impossible to verify this by giving positive instances, because this would require us to name that which we have declared to be unnameable. From an observation by the fifth-century Indian grammarian and philosopher Bhartrhari. “\[E\]very argument advanced to support any instance of the unnameability thesis drives one still more firmly into the… ## [TINUBU, PROPHET AYODELE AND THE JANUARY 16 PROPHECY: WILL APC CHANGE THE ELECTION DATE?](https://nigeria360.com.ng/controversy/tinubu-prophet-ayodele-and-the-january-16-prophecy-will-apc-change-the-election-date/) _2026-08-17 · Al Humphrey · Nigeria 360_ TINUBU, PROPHET AYODELE AND THE JANUARY 16 PROPHECY: WILL APC CHANGE THE ELECTION DATE? By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo The prophet has spoken. INEC has fixed the date. Now the political question is whether President Tinubu will heed the warning—or face the prophecy at the ballot box. Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election has acquired yet another ingredient \[…\] The post TINUBU, PROPHET AYODELE AND THE… ## [Non-custodial Crypto Payments & Escrow (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/o6gPcuFmZrG1) _2026-08-17 · **Sponsored**_ Accept multi-chain crypto with trustless escrow, instant confirmations, and no KYC ## [Governor Diri’s Call for Restructuring Sets the Agenda for Presidential Candidates By Braeyi Ekiye](https://nigeria360.com.ng/opinion/governor-diris-call-for-restructuring-sets-the-agenda-for-presidential-candidates-by-braeyi-ekiye/) _2026-08-17 · Al Humphrey · Nigeria 360_ Governor Diri’s Call for Restructuring Sets the Agenda for Presidential Candidates By Braeyi Ekiye If there is any greater challenge facing Nigeria today, it is that of squarely addressing “The National Question.” It is the greater and not the lesser four-year ritual of conducting elections that are largely dubbed as not fair and credible, and \[…\] The post Governor Diri’s Call for Restructuring… ## [Tour Easy: E-Bike Brake Sensor Installation](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/17/tour-easy-e-bike-brake-sensor-installation/) _2026-08-17 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ The first ride was uneventful, so we'll declare victory ## [Satyress: Slop, Salesmanship, or Satire](https://www.itstheorbit.com/p/satyress-slop-salesmanship-or-satire) _2026-08-17 · The Orbit · The Orbit_ A demon robot, a mysterious engineer, and the creeping suspicion that none of this is what it seems. ## [Osun Has Spoken: The 2026 Governorship Election Shows That a New Nigeria Is Possible By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo](https://nigeria360.com.ng/home-care/in-the-national-interest/osun-has-spoken-the-2026-governorship-election-shows-that-a-new-nigeria-is-possible-by-al-humphrey-onyanabo/) _2026-08-16 · Al Humphrey · Nigeria 360_ Osun Has Spoken: The 2026 Governorship Election Shows That a New Nigeria Is Possible By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo The outcome of the 2026 Osun State governorship election should be studied far beyond the borders of Osun. It carries a simple but important message for Nigerians: political power still belongs to the people when citizens are \[…\] The post Osun Has Spoken: The 2026 Governorship Election… ## [Taking Pause](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/16/taking-pause/) _2026-08-16 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Theft is a concept that logically and genetically depends on the antecedent concept of rightfully owned property and refers to the act of taking that property without the owner s consent. If no property is rightfully owned, that is, if nothing is property, there can be no such concept as theft. Thus, the statement All property is theft has an internal contradiction: to use the concept theft while… ## [Taking Pause](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/16/taking-pause/) _2026-08-16 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Theft is a concept that logically and genetically depends on the antecedent concept of rightfully owned property and refers to the act of taking that property without the owner s consent. If no property is rightfully owned, that is, if nothing is property, there can be no such concept as theft. Thus, the statement All property is theft has an internal contradiction: to use the concept theft while… ## [Manitoba's WWI Fallen: James Wilson of Winnipeg](https://westenddumplings.blogspot.com/2026/08/to-commemorate-100th-anniversary-of.html) _2026-08-15 · Christian Cassidy · West End Dumplings_ To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, I am working on a series of blog posts and radio shows that will look at some of the thousands of Manitobans who died serving their country. For more, follow this link . The duplex at 501-503 Sherbrook Street has burned down. The building was vacant and boarded up at the time. The 503 side has connections to a sad wartime… ## [Around the World](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/15/around-the-world-3/) _2026-08-15 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ A brainteaser from the British intelligence agency GCHQ: Explain the following: falkun, home de guerra, kick, lavoro, moed, mosca, raccordement, schafer, stobhach, tre, zevk. ## [Around the World](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/15/around-the-world-3/) _2026-08-15 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ A brainteaser from the British intelligence agency GCHQ: Explain the following: falkun, home de guerra, kick, lavoro, moed, mosca, raccordement, schafer, stobhach, tre, zevk. ## [Good Enough](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/14/good-enough-3/) _2026-08-14 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ The opening of Edward Bulwer-Lytton s 1830 novel Paul Clifford, It was a dark and stormy night, has been held up as a model of bad writing for nearly two centuries. But it s also the opening sentence of Madeleine L Engle s award-winning 1962 young adult science fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time. Apparently this was deliberate. L Engle biographer Leonard Marcus writes, With a wink to the reader, she… ## [AI Summaries & Audio Briefings (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/MQWAlrPIHi1m) _2026-08-14 · **Sponsored**_ Read AI summaries and listen to concise audio briefings for the latest stories. ## [Good Enough](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/14/good-enough-3/) _2026-08-14 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ The opening of Edward Bulwer-Lytton s 1830 novel Paul Clifford, It was a dark and stormy night, has been held up as a model of bad writing for nearly two centuries. But it s also the opening sentence of Madeleine L Engle s award-winning 1962 young adult science fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time. Apparently this was deliberate. L Engle biographer Leonard Marcus writes, With a wink to the reader, she… ## [E-Bike Brake Sensor Bench Check](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/14/e-bike-brake-sensor-bench-check/) _2026-08-14 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ Orienting the disk face-on to the sensor increases the distances ## [“Scripture Cake”](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/14/scripture-cake/) _2026-08-14 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Contributed by Mrs. M.L. Dow to a cookbook compiled by the Ladies of Trinity Church, Claremont, N.H., 1899: 4 1/2 cups 1st Kings 4:22 1 1/2 cups Judges 5:25 2 cups Jeremiah 6:20 2 cups 1st Samuel 30:12 2 cups Nahum 3:12 1 cup Numbers 17:8 1/2 cup Judges 4:19 2 tablespoons of 1st Samuel 14:25 1 pinch of Leviticus 2:13 2 teaspoons of Amos 4:5 6 teaspoons Jeremiah 17:11 The first line calls for 4 1/2… ## [“Scripture Cake”](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/14/scripture-cake/) _2026-08-14 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Contributed by Mrs. M.L. Dow to a cookbook compiled by the Ladies of Trinity Church, Claremont, N.H., 1899: 4 1/2 cups 1st Kings 4:22 1 1/2 cups Judges 5:25 2 cups Jeremiah 6:20 2 cups 1st Samuel 30:12 2 cups Nahum 3:12 1 cup Numbers 17:8 1/2 cup Judges 4:19 2 tablespoons of 1st Samuel 14:25 1 pinch of Leviticus 2:13 2 teaspoons of Amos 4:5 6 teaspoons Jeremiah 17:11 The first line calls for 4 1/2… ## [CyberChance](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/13/cyberchance/) _2026-08-13 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ A puzzle by National Security Agency applied research mathematician Nicholas R., from the agency s October 2016 Puzzle Periodical: Eddie, Layne, Kurt, and Chris are locked in a heated game of CyberChance which only one of them will win. Their fans are on the edge of their seats: everyone knows that in CyberChance, things can change at any moment. One fan, who prefers Kurt or Chris, is feeling… ## [CyberChance](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/13/cyberchance/) _2026-08-13 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ A puzzle by National Security Agency applied research mathematician Nicholas R., from the agency s October 2016 Puzzle Periodical: Eddie, Layne, Kurt, and Chris are locked in a heated game of CyberChance which only one of them will win. Their fans are on the edge of their seats: everyone knows that in CyberChance, things can change at any moment. One fan, who prefers Kurt or Chris, is feeling… ## [Mini-lathe Cross Slide and Compound Backlash Tweakage](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/13/mini-lathe-cross-slide-and-compound-backlash-tweakage/) _2026-08-13 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ Contrary to what I originally thought, that gap doesn't contribute to the backlash ## [PANDEF Hails Tinubu’s Support for Nigeria’s First Indigenous Floating LNG Project](https://nigeria360.com.ng/headlines/pandef-hails-tinubus-support-for-nigerias-first-indigenous-floating-lng-project/) _2026-08-13 · Al Humphrey · Nigeria 360_ PANDEF Hails Tinubu’s Support for Nigeria’s First Indigenous Floating LNG Project By: Al Humphrey Onyanabo Group says 15-year gas supply agreement could accelerate industrialisation, jobs and gas-based development in the Niger Delta The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting the development of Nigeria’s first indigenous floating liquefied natural… ## [Point of Order](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/13/point-of-order/) _2026-08-13 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Mr. Chairman, before we put the motion That the motion be now put, should we not first put the motion That the motion That the motion be now put be now put ? Punch, 1952 ## [Point of Order](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/13/point-of-order/) _2026-08-13 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Mr. Chairman, before we put the motion That the motion be now put, should we not first put the motion That the motion That the motion be now put be now put ? Punch, 1952 ## [Polchinski’s Paradox](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/12/polchinskis-paradox/) _2026-08-12 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ In 1990, physicist Joseph Polchinski described a puzzling situation: Suppose a billiard ball were sent through a traversable wormhole into the past, where it knocked its earlier self off course, away from the wormhole. This is a version of the famous grandfather paradox: How can we explain the ball s presence where it seems to have prevented its own arrival? Fortunately, Caltech students Fernando… ## [Polchinski’s Paradox](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/12/polchinskis-paradox/) _2026-08-12 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ In 1990, physicist Joseph Polchinski described a puzzling situation: Suppose a billiard ball were sent through a traversable wormhole into the past, where it knocked its earlier self off course, away from the wormhole. This is a version of the famous grandfather paradox: How can we explain the ball s presence where it seems to have prevented its own arrival? Fortunately, Caltech students Fernando… ## [Layered Paper 8×10 inch Gluing Fixture](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/12/layered-paper-8x10-inch-gluing-fixture/) _2026-08-12 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ Squishy foam feet keeping the M3 screws off the table ## [Tile Swap](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/12/tile-swap/) _2026-08-12 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ You re tiling a floor with 4 1 and 2 2 tiles when you accidentally break one. A tile of the other shape is available. Show that it s not possible to cover the floor by rearranging the tiles. ## [Tile Swap](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/12/tile-swap/) _2026-08-12 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ You re tiling a floor with 4 1 and 2 2 tiles when you accidentally break one. A tile of the other shape is available. Show that it s not possible to cover the floor by rearranging the tiles. ## [Level Best](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/11/level-best/) _2026-08-11 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ To give an accurate and exhaustive account of that period would need a far less brilliant pen than mine. Max Beerbohm \[These foolish remarks\] show a want of knowledge that must be the result of years of study. Oscar Wilde ## [Level Best](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/11/level-best/) _2026-08-11 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ To give an accurate and exhaustive account of that period would need a far less brilliant pen than mine. Max Beerbohm \[These foolish remarks\] show a want of knowledge that must be the result of years of study. Oscar Wilde ## [Home Master CFKDF85GCC-20BB Water Filter Centering Blocks](https://softsolder.com/2026/08/11/home-master-cfkdf85gcc-20bb-water-filter-centering-blocks/) _2026-08-11 · Ed · The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning_ The filter headers have fingers to center the cartridges ## [Black and White](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/11/black-and-white-304/) _2026-08-11 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Alexey Khanyan devised this no-brainer in 2008. Black is in check. His only legal response is to interpose one of his knights, which then checks White, who must capture the knight, and so on. The whole ensuing 22-ply bloodbath unfolds mechanically, always reaching the same conclusion. Via Tim Krabbé s chess diary. Krabbé writes, As it is a no-brainer, I feel free not to give the moves. See The… ## [Black and White](https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/08/11/black-and-white-304/) _2026-08-11 · Greg Ross · Futility Closet_ Alexey Khanyan devised this no-brainer in 2008. Black is in check. His only legal response is to interpose one of his knights, which then checks White, who must capture the knight, and so on. The whole ensuing 22-ply bloodbath unfolds mechanically, always reaching the same conclusion. Via Tim Krabbé s chess diary. Krabbé writes, As it is a no-brainer, I feel free not to give the moves. See The…