Coincidence? I think not.
42 is also the atomic number for the Group 6 chemical element Molybdenum. Now, this is where it gets interesting, Molybdenum was discovered by a certain Carl Wilhelm Scheele back in 1778. Now 1778 also happens to be the year when the poet and novelist Clemens Brentano was born. Clemens Brentano was born in Ehrenbreitstein, Germany. Now, Germany went through a little bit of a rough patch with the whole Third Reich and everything. This means that back in 1942 Germany was ruthlessly led by the Führer, Hitler himself. In 1942, something else extraordinary happened. Another Great Leader was born – Kim Jong-il of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. (Unless we believe the Soviet records, which state that he was born in 1941, but the Soviet Union never got anything right anyway so we’re probably better off believing the North Korean records.) And speaking of Kim Jong-il, today is his birthday! Now if that’s a coincidence, I’ll eat my hat. I don’t actually have a hat, but that’s irrelevant. This day is a national holiday in North Korea and therefore the perfect day to celebrate this, my 42nd post on Ziva’s Inferno.
Sadly, M is away on business in Barcelona and can’t celebrate with me. Some sort of congress or other. Therefore, to honor Kim Jong-il’s politics, and celebrate 42 posts, I am going to post this IM conversation between Zelma and me that fits the occasion perfectly.
I have to warn you before you read this, though. IM conversations between Zelma and me have a tendency to get a little strange. We start off like normal people, talking about the weather, discussing politics and religion and best ways to groom a dog. Then something goes wrong and this is what happens:
Ziva: Everything I ever needed to know I can find on Google and Wikipedia.
Zelma: Yeah, and all my friends are on Facebook, what more do I need?
Ziva: A toilet at the computer and life would be perfect.
Zelma: Damn, we need to get that idea patented, we’ll be rich!
Ziva: …cause that’s exactly what I want to be rich and famous for…
Zelma: Do you really want to flush toilet? Yes/No
Ziva: ABORT flush, ABORT flush
Zelma: Your toilet is now flushed...There is an update for your flushing system...
Ziva: A problem with your flushes has been detected and the system had to shut down. Do you wish to report the problem?
Zelma: Your monthly flushes are about to expire.
Ziva: Fatal error with bigflush.exe.
Zelma: A virus was detected in your flushing system.
Ziva: Initiating smellbetter sequence.
Zelma: Your toilet is unflushed, what do you wish to do? Remind me in 10 mins, remind me in 1 hour, never remind me.
Ziva: You're out of toilet paper, please refill toilet paper and try again.
Zelma: Wow, it would be way too complicated with computer toilets.
Ziva: Clearly.
Congratulations Kim Jong-il! *
Today is also the secondlast day Joni will be 21 years old. If you add todays age with tomorrows age you will get...dumdidummmmdummmm... 42!!!
ReplyDeleteCoincidence? I think not.
oooooooh! and I posted that post at 11:42!! you know....eleven 42!
ReplyDeleteCoincidence? I think not.
Muschu - Now you're getting it, grasshopper. I'm so proud of you.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit of stretch going from Scheele to Brentano to Hitler, but I stayed with it and got to the computer-toilet payoff, so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your 42nd post, and for reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Ziva. It's a true milestone in the life of a blogger. The 42nd post, I mean, not the reading of the book.
Curiously, given our previous comment exchanges, the number 42 also played a big role in Lewis Carroll's work. Even more curious, the 42nd book in the Hardy Boys mystery series is "The Viking Symbol Mystery." Isn't that strange, since you're descended from Vikings and this is your 42nd post, etc., etc.?
Cue the eerie music!
MikeWJ - Holy crap, I think I can hear the X-files theme song. Very curious indeed.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Mike, I'm really glad to have reached this very important milestone. I'm also happy you stayed with the post to the very end and that you didn't make fun of Zelma and me for not realizing that someone had already invented the equivalence of a computer-toilet - i.e., the laptop.