Interesting Articles

Intelligence vs ability

Orla is struggling in maths again. ‘I’m just not clever enough to do this, Miss’. For some reason the fact that she has been hailed a ‘literary genius’ since the age of seven on the basis of her creative word play and devouring Philip Pullman novels since the age of eight doesn’t seem to factor in this negative self-perception. And Sally. Well, what can we say about Sally?

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The Outsiders

His name was William James Sidis, and his IQ was estimated at between 250 and 300 [8, p. 283]. At eighteen months he could read The New York Times, at two he taught himself Latin, at three he learned Greek. By the time he was an adult he could speak more than forty languages and dialects. He gained entrance to Harvard at eleven, and gave a lecture on four-dimensional bodies to the Harvard Mathematical Club his first year.

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The Fearsome Mensa Puzzle Alarm Clock

How long until you be crashing it against the wall?
The Mensa Puzzle Alarm Clock, one of the weirdest of its kind

There are quite a lot of wacky alarm clocks available, but the Mensa Puzzle is definitely one of the most innovative and annoying similar gadgets.

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Ghost hunting with Seacoast Paranormal Research Group

My Buddhist Chinese friend, Bubba, tells me the most annoying thing about ancestor worship is that long after your Uncle Ping has died, he’s still following you around the house criticizing your every action. Bubba would rather avoid the spirits that trail around after him. The Seacoast Paranormal Research Group (SPRG) is hunting them down.

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A Christmas Tree in Budapest

“Old Marley was as dead as a doornail. That you must believe if anything good is to come of this story.” Charles Dickens-A Christmas Carol. What we don’t know is how he died. What we do know is that he died Christmas Eve. What else do we know? We know he lived in London. Europe. We also know that the tradition here is to put up Christmas trees on Christmas Eve. We also know that it is not uncommon to have 13 foot ceilings in European homes.

I think Marley died of a heart attack.

I can relate.

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New Mexican Mensan wins on Jeopardy

Skaar makes three-day ‘Jeopardy’ champion

Last month, Bob and Marcia Skaar’s phone at their home in Alamogordo was ringing off the hook.

“We heard from people we hadn’t heard from in 30 years,” she said.

That’s because their son David was a three-day champion on “Jeopardy.” He won $104,000 in three days, and then was defeated on the fourth day and won $2,000 as runner-up.

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The Mensa Maid

Fair-Wage Housecleaning
Finding value in women’s work

An acquaintance of mine, Rebecca (not her real name), agreed to take me with her on a day of cleaning. I was curious how housecleaners were faring in this economy, and I wanted to get some perspective on how it feels to get paid for something most people don’t consider “real work.” Her gig was at a recently vacated apartment in Oakland. While Rebecca perched on a ladder and scrubbed six years of grease off the kitchen ceiling, we chatted about money.

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Final Countdown For Carol Voderman

Brainbox Beauty Says Emotional Farewell To Cult Show The Big Interview

Carol Vorderman was determined to bring the kind of professionalism to her final Countdown show that she had brought to the previous 4754 Countdowns she had filmed.

She knew it was going to be an emotional experience after 26 years as co-host of Channel 4’s cosy words and letters game but – gutsy woman that she is – she was going to see it through.

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MAM Wins Emerald Award!!

Today in History

1725: American colonists practice scalping
1942: Pilot O'Hare becomes first American WWII flying ace
1962: An American orbits earth
1985: Ireland allows sale of contraceptives