I had assumed that Till Eulenspiegel was strictly a fictional character (I know of him only through Richard Strauss’ music) but I see from the Wikipedia page that he “may have been based on a historical person”. Another new fact learned today!
A co-worker once told me he had planned a garden for his back yard, and wanted to till up an certain area and add peat moss to a depth of one foot. Peat moss in bulk is supplied in units of cubic yards. He measured the area for the garden and correctly converted the area into square yards. But he forgot that a cubic yard is 3 feet deep, not one, so he ended up ordering 3 times the volume he needed, and had a huge leftover pile that he didn’t know what to do with.
In an episode of West Wing, C.J. was being briefed by the White House counsel as to how to testify in court. Getting a bit exasperated at her tendency to volunteer information, the counsel asked “Do you have the time?” C.J. looked at her watch and said “Sure, it’s 11:20” The lawyer looked at her for a couple seconds, then said “I wish you’d stop doing that.” C.J.: “Doing WHAT?” Lawyer: “Answering questions I haven’t asked you.”
What to call Dr. Who’s nemesis?
What’s a poor Igor to do?