Pythagoras Theorem

Here is a lovely proof-without-words of this ancient theorem, as true today as ever it was. The right-angled triangle is yellow, the square on the hypotenuse is blue, and the squares on the other two sides are red.

             

This is just one of 99 proofs  of Pythagoras Theorem collected by Alexander Bogomolny for his wonderfully inventive and informative cut-the-knot column that appeared from 1996 until 2012 on the Mathematical Association of America website. 

Nominative Determinism

I believe the weekly magazine, New Scientist, may have coined the phrase "nominative determinism" in its light-hearted column at the back. I came across a lovely example of it last week, when my son Cameron and I went on a conducted tour of the the Jaguar production lines at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham.

Our amiable and very knowledgeable guide had worked in the car industry for most of his working life. He told us that his first job had been hanging doors on cars on an Austin production line, and at the end of the tour,  when I looked at his name label, it read: Austin Dawes. He assured us that it was not a joke.

Royal Philandering

To stave off mental decay, I try to complete the cryptic crossword on the back page of The Week magazine, composed each week by Tim Moorey. He has reached Crossword Number 858, which means he has set more than 25,000 clever, cunning, crafty, captivating cryptic clues over 17 years or so. Here is a nice one from his latest engrossing grid:

The Duke and the Queen carry on. (9)

What are the chances?

Here's a nice clue by Tim Moorey for The Week Crossword Number 783:

                Failure's sent to a morgue abroad in this  (4, 2, 7, 8)

The word "abroad" has a double function here; one of them could signify Russia.

Charles Dodgson is never far away

I love this elegant crossword clue
          Eccentric that appears in strange dream (3,6)
by Brendan in the Guardian. The whole clue is both the definition and a cryptic anagram. Such clues are known as an "& lit" clues.

John Graham's Desert Island Discs

Kirsty Young teased one of his favourite clues out of Araucaria on BBC Radio 4's never-ending parade of aspiring castaways. It went something like this:
"Going to the country? Let Green Line coach drop companion off (7,8)"
Be careful how you pronounce your Ls and Rs. 

Nonagenarian Monkey Puzzler

Reformed Unitarian, Ray, ace cruciverbalist (9,6).
Happy birthday, John!