The most argumentative person in the world Infographic

I'm a diplomatic person myself, but that's not for everyone.

©2015 James Mathurin

Largest collection of Old Newspapers Infographic

I may have said this before, but everyone needs a hobby.

©2015 James Mathurin

Least Effective Charity Event Infographic

It's always important to do things for a good cause, but there are limits.

©2015 James Mathurin

Quickest Holy Crusade Infographic

Frankly, crusades are never good news. If they had all been over as quickly as this one, it would have been for the best.

©2015 James Mathurin

First Telephone Death Threat Infographic

Telephone harassment is a very serious problem, which has a longer history than many people are aware of.

©2014 James Mathurin

Citrus Cave Art: Infographic

The advent of agriculture and art were vitally important to human development. Here is a place where they crossed over.

 ©2014 James Mathurin

Largest scale apology infographic

Apologies come in many forms, but few so musical.

©2014 James Mathurin 

The most sarcastic piece of correspondence Infographic

A sarcastic piece of European history, originally posted in 2010.

©2014 James Mathurin

The Sydney Nick-Name War Infographic

I was a London resident when I originally wrote this in 2010, but being a Sydney resident now, I suppose this is local history.

©2010 James Mathurin

Tea in Orang-Utangerie Infographic

This is another entry which is not an update of a previous one, but is completely, totally, brand-new. Call it an early Valentine's day present.

©2014 James Mathurin

Moustaches of Australia Infographic

Information from 2011, for all facial-hair enthusiasts.

©2014 James Mathurin

Oldest Public Transportation System infographic

An infographic of the archaeological dig that discovered the world's oldest public transportation system.

©2013 James Mathurin

Most erotic cooking instructions Infographic

Important historical research, now in infographic form!

©2013 James Mathurin

The most argumentative person in the world

An infographic of Alexei Shamunshumovich, the most argumentative person in the world.

©2013 James Mathurin

The World's Smallest Roundabout - infographic

Here is the infographic for The World's Smallest Roundabout.

©2013 James Mathurin

The most pointless speech

The most pointless speech ever given was an address to the board of GlamSinClean inc. by one of their Regional Directors, Gerald Hompknee, in 1991. In his presentation of annual figures, he started reading from a piece of homework by his 6 year-old son Jimmy, who had put it in his father’s briefcase for him to read. Mister Hompknee later admitted, “When I started reading from Jimmy’s ‘Why I’m not scared to sit on the toilet any more’ essay, I thought I was in real trouble at first, but I managed to turn it into a metaphor for management strategies, and it was actually very well received. In fact, I’ve had Jimmy and his little sister Elaine contribute to every speech I’ve done since.”

Hompknee, appearing at a University of Exeter conference on "Serendipity and Chaos Theory in Public Speaking" in 1999, . Photograph by University of Exeter.

 ©2013 James Mathurin 

The world’s oldest chad

The world’s oldest chad is over 7, 000 years old. It was found by archaeologist Shrivnee Bambaclart, on a dig near the site of the Sphinx in Egypt in 2001. “I can categorically state that this is a chad, and not a simple disc of paper,” said Bambaclart, announcing her discovery, “Electron Microscope analysis of its edges reveals that it was punched and not cut from a larger sheet of papyrus. What is truly fascinating, though, is that it predates the use of papyrus in Egypt, and certainly predates the use of even the most primitive of hole-punchers. I truly believe that this may represent a link to the truth behind the legend of Atlantis.”

The chad is analysed under electron microscopes at laboratories in Cyprus in 2002. Bambaclart's team, afte confirming the age of the chad, are planning to return to the dig site to confirm rumours of similarly-aged staples. Photograph by Robert Scoble.

©2013 James Mathurin

The earliest public transport network

The earliest public transport network was a system of catapults unearthed in the ruins of the ancient Aztec city of Zingalamaduni, dated to around the 13th Century AD. With 17 temples and 3 palaces, it is believed that the catapults were devised to allow priests to perform several religious rites at different sites in quick succession, particularly at times of lunar or solar eclipse, when both sacrifices, marriages, baptisms and magistrates’ hearings would all be conducted within a very short time frame. It is believed that the system was abandoned after one disastrous eclipse, where a catapulting mix-up led to a groom being sacrificed, his bride-to-be being married to a new-born prince, a goat being baptised and the high priest being catapulted straight into the wall of a temple, killing him instantly.

This photograph shows a team of archaeologists excavating the Zingalamaduni site in 2003. The site was hailed by the dig's leader, Professor Bryan Philpot, as a "truly exciting find, especially when I was accidentally thrown 20 metres by a remarkably well-preserved catapult!" Photograph by Odense Bys Museer.

©2013 James Mathurin

The most difficult musical instrument to play

The most difficult musical instrument to play is the Rimzeninger Organ, developed by renowned musicologist Otto Rimzeninger in 1897, it employs disused sewer tunnels or mineshafts to produce notes at volumes capable of knocking over a medium-sized cathedral, leading to it being recognised as a weapon rather than a musical instrument in Switzerland, Namibia and the American state of Indiana. It takes three people jumping in unison to sound one of the custom-built keys which are normally set up in a nearby field, or sports pitch, and the keys have to be at least 50 metres apart. At the last Rimzeninger concert, on 28^th August 1924, it took 5 months to construct the organ, using a disused coal mine outside the City of Leeds in Britain; it took a further 3 weeks to tune the instrument, and the concert consisted of 4 movements over the course of fortnight, resulting in 9 deaths, 3 cave-ins, and £295, 876 worth of damage.

At a hearing to allocate compensation for the damage caused by the Rimzeninger Organ, Rimzeniger (pictured in the centre, wearing the top hat) arrived with a gang of "the Gentleman Brigands", a group of hard-drinking young aristocrats who were fans of his music and work. Rimzeninger then proceeded to direct them to attack anyone at the hearing who insulted his composition. Rimzeninger and the Gentleman Brigands were later given "stern rebukes" by the local police. Photograph by El Bibliomata.

 ©2012 James Mathurin

The quickest ever Holy Crusade

The quickest ever Holy Crusade was over in 2 hours and 13 minutes on the 20^th March 1853, when Edward Denison, the Bishop of Salisbury, declared that a crusade would be organised to recover the Cap of Alginon, a holy relic that was under his possession. He declared that the cap had disappeared, and had been, “spirited away by agents of Beelzebub, probably from Switzerland,” but after preparations had begun, it was discovered that one of his maids had accidentally knocked the cap behind the Bishop’s drinks cabinet.

This image of the parchment of Lower Divebeny, produced by a verger of Bishop Denison's parish to commemorate the "Crusade of the Cap", as it became known in satirical magazines of the time. The Unicorn is sad to represent the Bishop, the Dragon to represent a "Swiss Demon", and the unidentified creature (possibly a hyena), pictured at the bottom is said to represent an angel, leading the unicorn to the drinks cabinet and the hidden cap. Picture by grongar.

 ©2012 James Mathurin