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In a tale as old as time, here is a short list of classic books and other literary works that were originally attacked by critics and subsequently given bad reviews.

* A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakeaspeare - performed in London in 1662.
"The most stupid ridiculous play that I ever saw in my life."
- Samuel Pepys, Diary.


book pages
* Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift - 1726.
"..evidence of a diseased mind and a lacerated heart."
- John Dunlop, 'The History of Fiction', 1814.


* Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - 1857.
"Monsieur Flaubert is not a writer."
- Le Figaro.


* Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy - 1877.
"Sentimental Rubbish"
- The Odessa Courier.


* The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1925.
"What has never been alive cannot very well go on living. So this is a book of the season only."
- New York Herald Tribune.


* Catch-22 - Joseph Heller - 1961.
"Heller wallows in his own laughter... and the sort of antic behaviour the children fall into when they know they are losing our attention."
- Whitey Balliett, New Yorker.


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US naval salute
U.S Naval salute - palm down.
Recently I was involved in a conversation where an American decided to, quite arrogantly I might add, tell an Englishwoman that the reason that the American military salute with their palms down (as if shading the eyes from the sun) is because they have never lost a war, whereas the British, who salute with their palms facing outwards, have lost in the past and therefore must salute as such.

Upon pointing out that they lost at Vietnam, the American initially tried to deny that it was actually a war, and when challenged on the issue subsequently snapped and the night turned into a smaller, but more tense version of Fawlty Towers ‘don’t mention the war.’

[ Click here to read more ]
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McDonald's McNugget Mayhem!

March 6th 2009 08:58
chicken nuggets
As reported by AAP on March the 5th, 2009, "an American woman who paid for a 10-piece meal of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets became irate after she was told the store was out of them. So she called 911.

Three times.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Those FUNNY SIGNS!

February 28th 2009 10:49
We all love funny signs so here's a few extra to enjoy for the weekend.

funny sign instructions free

[ Click here to read more ]
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SOCK and AWE - Fancy a Go???

December 16th 2008 21:06
George W. Bush U.S. President
Following in the footsteps of the Iraqi journalist who recently hurled his shoe at George W. Bush, the online game Sock and Awe, has been drawing high numbers of people willing to throw their shoes and socks at the outgoing U.S. president's image.

The soles of shoes are considered to be the ultimate insult in Arab culture - at the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad in April 2003, many people used the soles of their shoes to beat it.

[ Click here to read more ]
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I'M SPEECHLESS!!!!

November 27th 2008 18:39
dunce cap hat
Taken from a police station's daily written record of events.
funny advert
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The Things PEOPLE Actually SAY!!!!

November 5th 2008 10:00
Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: 'I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever,'
--Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Idiocy OR Coincidence?!!

September 29th 2008 12:48
bullet
In 1883 Mr Henry Ziegland, broke off a relationship with his girlfriend who consequently committed suicide.

The girl's brother was so enraged that he hunted down Ziegland and shot him.

[ Click here to read more ]
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telephone
Recently in Florida, USA, a 47 year old man by the name of Carlos Gutierrez was arrested after making false 911 to police because the casino's slot machines had 'stolen his money'.

He not only called 911 from the casino he was in, but also again from outside the casino and hotel.

[ Click here to read more ]
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MOWED DOWN!!!

July 29th 2008 12:55
Lawnmowers can be annoying at the best of times - especially if you're having a lie in on a Sunday morning and the neighbour decides that 6am is an appropriate time to start cutting the grass, but one man from Milwaukee recently discovered that an annoying lawnmower can get you into much more trouble - particulary if you also happen to be armed with a sawn-off shotgun!

Having spent the morning drinking, (as we all do!) he decided at some point to attempt to mow the lawn.

[ Click here to read more ]
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The Questions People Ask!

July 16th 2008 10:30
koala
Having been asked the other day whether we, as Australians, live in actual houses? (As opposed to what I don't know - tents perhaps???) I've decided to list some of the most common questions asked by visitors to Australia as were pointed out recently by one of our tourism websites.


Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I've never seen it rain on TV. How do your plants grow? (UK)
[ Click here to read more ]
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You probably thought george W. Bush was the only US president to make faux pas such as "You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order—order out of chaos. But we will."

And of course my personal favourite,"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."

[ Click here to read more ]
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black cat on a pole
Over in Georgia, a man by the name of Carl Miles once possessed a 'talking' cat.

He would take his cat out to street corners where the cat would say "I Love You" and "I Want My Mamma". Both he and the cat would then collect money from passers-by.

[ Click here to read more ]
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The Hotmail Account of George W Bush

August 17th 2007 00:40
George W Bush
OK, so I'm really running out of time in our sorting and packing to move overseas, so I'll leave you with a simple bit of George W. Bush humour (that's 'humor' for you Americans) that I know you all love so much.

Click HERE for U.S. President George W Bush's old Hotmail account!
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