[franca]

There are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as motorcars. Almost 400 million bicycles are in China. Every year some 50 million bicycles - and 20 million cars - are produced.

Penny farthingAlthough Leonardo da Vinci drew some rough sketches of a contraption that looked like a bicycle, the Frenchman De Sivrac built the first bicycle-type vehicle in 1690. It was referred to as a hobbyhorse. However, it did not have pedals. Those were added in 1840 by a Scottish blacksmith, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, who is credited with inventing the real bicycle.

On a penny-farthing bicycle, one pedal gave the wheel one turn. A lot of pedalling was needed to get around! With the advent of gears, bicycles could move as fast as cars.

Air-filled tyres were used on bicycles before they were used on motorcars.

The bicycle as we know it today - with two wheels of the same size - looks almost exactly the same as one from 1900.

The first five-seat bicycle, the quindem, was built in 1940.

The world speed record on a bicycle is held by John Howard, Olympic Cyclist and Ironman triathlon winner from the US. In 1985 he reached 245,08 km/h (152.2 mph), cycling in the slipstream of a specially designed car.

[Callum_Dawson]

Nope, I didn't.

[poochee]

Wow!

We have a lot of bike riders in Sacramento.

[foremanjr]

I wouldnt wanna be the guy going 150 on a bicycle.....

[Blackmirror]

The word "gymnasium" comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means naked. In ancient times athletes practised in the nude to the accompaniment of music. They also performed naked at the Olympic Games. Women were not allowed to participate or even to attend as spectators.

[franca]

Did you know?

It's Chippys tonight @ BM's........

[guy2]

Nice history lesson iv seen a similar documentary on modern marvels that went as far back as the peddle less bike's

Im a BMX rider and got the hospital records to prove it but im interested in building one these.

Got the big frame bike ,195cc snow blower engine but don't have the drive train kit ,ridiculously expensive for the simple and well used technology so im gonna find a scooter in a junk yard of something.

[buffoon]

........that Xenophobia is by origin a misnomer since it comes from the Greek Xenos which can mean "stranger" but also "guest".

But then, depending on what take you have on playing host to people, it may not be such a misnomer after all.

[Fidelista]

Understanding the Blues, all you need to know . >f


Here are some very fundamental rules about the 'Blues'

1. Most blues begin with: "woke up this mornin'"

2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the blues...unless you stick something nasty in the next line like: "I got a good woman with the meanest face in town"

3. The blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it Then find something that rhymes, like: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weigh 'bout 500 pound"

4. The blues is not about choice: you stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch... ain't no way out.

5. Blues cars: Chevy’s, Fords, Cadillac’s and broken down trucks... Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs or sport utility vehicles. Most blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft or state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walking plays a major part in the blues lifestyle... so does 'fixin' to die' ....good grammar has no place in the blues: "I'm not going to care very much" ...needs: I ain't gonna give a damn".

6. Teenagers can't sing the blues...They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the blues. Adulthood means being old enough to get the electric chair for shooting a man in Memphis

7. Blues can take place in New York City, but not in Hawaii or anywhere in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle are probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, and Nawlins are still the best places to have the blues. Another thing: you can't have the blues in any place that don't get rain.

8. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. Now, a woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause a alligator be chompin' on it, is.

9. You can't have no blues in an office or shopping mall. the lighting is wrong. You have to go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster

10. Good places for the Blues:
a. highway;
b. jailhouse;
c. empty bed;
d. bottom of a whiskey glass

11. Bad places for the Blues:
a. Nordsrom's;
b. Gallery openings;
c. Ivy League Institutions;
d. Golf courses

12. No one will believe you have the blues if your wearing a suit... unless you are an old person and, maybe, you slept in it.

13. When do you have the right to sing the blues:
a. if you're older than dirt;
b. you're blind;
c. you shot a man in Memphis;
d. you can't be satisfied.

14. You can't really sing the blues if:
a. you have all of your teeth;
b. you once were blind, but now can see;
c. the man in Memphis lived;
d. you have a 401(k) or trust fund.

15. Blues is not a matter of color... It is a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues.... Sonny Liston could have. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the blues.

16. If you ask for water and your darlin' gives you gasoline...it's the blues. Other acceptable blues beverages are:
a. cheap wine;
b. whisky or bourbon;
c. muddy water;
d. black coffee.

17. The following are not blues beverages:
a. Perrier;
b. Chardonnay;
c. Snapple;
d. Slim Fast.

18. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a blues death. Stabbed in the neck by a jealous lover is another blues way to die... so is the electric chair, substance abuse, dyin' lonely. You can't have a blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.

19. Some good blues names for women:
a. Sadie;
b. Big Mama;
c. Bessie;
d. Fat River Dumplin'.

20. Good blues names for men:
a. Joe;
b. Willie;
c. Little Willie;
d. Big Willie.

21. People with names like Michelle, Amber, Jennifer, Debbie, Heather, Jonathan, and Charles can't sing the blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

[poochee]

Originally Posted by Fidelista

Understanding the Blues, all you need to know . >f.

s

[ekim68]

Re: #12 Fidelista, B B King has always worn a suit, even in his younger days..

[SlackAli]

Originally Posted by ekim68

Re: #12 Fidelista, B B King has always worn a suit, even in his younger days..

Robert Johnson also wore a suit - at least in two of the three photos of him remaining

re #21 on Fidelista's excellent list: how about Eric?

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=33360

If you believe in the idea of guitarists as gods, don't watch. otherwise it's very funny

[Drabdr]

Originally Posted by SlackAli

Robert Johnson also wore a suit - at least in two of the three photos of him remaining

re #21 on Fidelista's excellent list: how about Eric?

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=33360

If you believe in the idea of guitarists as gods, don't watch. otherwise it's very funny

Hey Slack, did you see one of the jokes posted underneath the video??

Q: Why does Eric Clapton close his eyes during all of his guitar solos?
A: Because his audience is so ugly.

[Blackmirror]

Did you know?...More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

[buffoon]

Originally Posted by SlackAli

Robert Johnson also wore a suit - at least in two of the three photos of him remaining

re #21 on Fidelista's excellent list: how about Eric?

http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=33360

If you believe in the idea of guitarists as gods, don't watch. otherwise it's very funny

Ha!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oyhl...eature=related

Not exactly a suit but a (pretty colourful) nearness.