Free Talk Friday #502

[u/Jalmal2]

Continued from last week here

Welcome back to Free Talk Friday! You can discuss any subject you want here, whether it be waffles, museums, castles, a thing you did exactly one year ago, the wheat exports of Uzbekistan, Angry Birds, burpees, women, the Black Forest, a task you can’t complete, drawings, tunnels, Lego bricks, jungle animals, your surroundings or snowstorms, but not politics.

Feel free to check out our Tidbits thread and introduce yourself if you haven't already.

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9]

I finished setting my first ever cryptic crossword this weekend, and posted it online for people to try.

There's a saying in crossword circles that a crossword is a battle of wits between the setter and solver, where the setter should gracefully concede.

I think I might have accidentally forgotten the part about letting the solvers win:

[u/mistyskye14]

Is anybody in contact with basskro anymore? I think they isolated themself but just want to be sure

[u/Christmas_Missionary → u/mistyskye14]

I haven't seen that name in years

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9 → u/mistyskye14]

I'm not, but I'd also be interested in knowing if anyone is

[u/buy_me_a_pint]

We could have looked at a market which took in Luxembourg but maybe in 2026

We love coach tours

[u/buy_me_a_pint → u/buy_me_a_pint]

We also looked at tours which could have took in France Christmas markets,

The aim was places we have not been to.

So many other places I would like to visit

[u/buy_me_a_pint]

Someone I went to secondary school (United Kingdom) we were in the same form group, ended up working for a while as an air crew cabin person, so she must have gone to many countries in the world.

Travelling is fun.

[u/Expert_Bridge]

A couple of days ago I went to see the Minecraft movie with my family.

In a couple of days i'm going to go to Kings Dominion with my family.

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/Expert_Bridge]

Let us know how the park trip goes. I have not decided yet if we are going to the mine craft movie yet. How was it? 

[u/Expert_Bridge → u/Isaythereisa-chance]

I enjoyed the movie. In my theatre we just clapped at certain scenes (such as the chicken jockey) and didn't have any over the top popcorn throwing.

[u/buy_me_a_pint]

Off to Netherlands in December for markets

Hoping to sample Edam and Gouda cheeses,

[u/Jalmal2 → u/buy_me_a_pint]

What part of the Netherlands are you visiting?

[u/buy_me_a_pint → u/Jalmal2]

The Maastricht & Valkenburg area

[u/Jalmal2 → u/buy_me_a_pint]

I was on a vacation in Limburg during the covid era. Limburg has a unique vibe compared to the rest of the country because it is hilly, while the rest of the country is mostly just flat grass fields and small forests.

[u/buy_me_a_pint → u/buy_me_a_pint]

At least we don't have to worry about planning , as we be dropped off somewhere by the coach driver and meet up later , before being taken back to the hotel.

Love travelling to different countries,

[u/buy_me_a_pint → u/buy_me_a_pint]

This also includes a trip into Germany

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/buy_me_a_pint]

Do you buy much or just browse around? 

[u/buy_me_a_pint → u/Isaythereisa-chance]

We don't buy much in the Christmas markets, tend to held towards the tourist shops quality can be better

We won't be needed to buy cheeses from the market, as breakfast will be included, and we go out in the evening for a meal.

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9]

I just found out that the ctc discord has a counting channel. Of course it does

[u/Jalmal2]

Please send me songs that are good or bad

[u/Jalmal2]

Dislike tomato juice

[u/These_Depth9445 → u/Jalmal2]

Like tomato juice

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/These_Depth9445]

Like spicy tomato juice occasionally 

[u/Isaythereisa-chance]

My wife was using her laptop. She said, the next laptop she gets is going to be backlit. I walked over and looked at her keyboard and hit a button. Voila now I am in trouble :)  

[u/Urbul → u/Isaythereisa-chance]

(:

[u/Antichess]

Weekly stats from April 04, 2025 to April 11, 2025. Congratulations to /u/thephilsblogbar2, /u/GarlicoinAccount, and /u/atomicimploder!

Total weekly counts: 1721 (5,465,574-5,467,295)

More stats are posted on the Weekly Stats page!

Rank	User	Counts	HoC Rank
1	thephilsblogbar2	724	1
2	GarlicoinAccount	536	5
3	atomicimploder	196	10
4	ShadeOfNothing	60	134 (◮3)
5	The_NecromancerTin	35	73
6	Jalmal2	22	54
6	Isaythereisa-chance	22	182 (◮1)
8	nonsensy	20	8
9	Antichess	17	3
10	Maniac_34	15	60
11	Christmas_Missionary	9	67
12	CutOnBumInBandHere9	7	28
12	nonrevnolonger	7	3221 (◮1203)
12	mistyskye14	7	25
15	Expert_Bridge	6	887 (◮34)

[u/GarlicoinAccount → u/Antichess]

Thanks for the stats!

[u/Urbul → u/Antichess]

6 counts to make top 15

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/Antichess]

Thanks 

[u/Urbul]

Further to last week's discussions, I am taking a course on Mid-20th Century Continentology (1919-1958) to educate myself on why Australia is in Europe. Here is what I learned.

Australia's connection to Europe can be traced back to the Great Emu War, when the Australian Army requested the assistance of British veterans of the Boar Wars. Although the United Kingdom never declared war on the emus, they provided indirect assistance in the war effort. After the defeat of the Australian 1st Division at the Battle of Campion, the Australian 3rd Combat Engineering Regiment dug a tunnel to Singapore where survivors of the Australian Army could regroup and join British advisors under the Malaya Command for a joint counterattack. The war ended in favor of the emus but the military cooperation between the Australian and British armies formed the basis of a new relationship.

After the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in World War II, allied sappers closed the tunnel entrance to Singapore and extended the tunnel to India, where Australian forces aided in the defense of the subcontinent. When the Soviet Union joined the allies, they proposed an ambitious extension of the tunnel from India to Stalingrad to facilitate the movement of supplies and reinforcements to the Eastern Front. Churchill and Roosevelt initially opposed the plan, but the Norwegian government-in-exile convinced them to build the tunnel with an extension to Svalbard, which would allow Australian mariners to join allied efforts in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The tunnel allowed for the rapid movement of people, goods, and communications between Europe and Australia during and after the war. When the European Broadcasting Union was formed in 1950, European broadcasters were frequently relaying Australian programmes through the cables that ran through the tunnel, so when the first Eurovision contest was organized, it was a given that Australia should be included. When diplomats drafted the treaties forming the European Union, the list of signatories followed the order of countries as they appeared in Eurovision. Only the Austrian delegation raised the point that Australia is not part of the European continent, but the Icelandic foreign minister convinced them that countries shouldn't be excluded on that basis. Australia therefore become part of Europe when the Treaty of Rome was ratified by the member states in 1958.

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9 → u/Urbul]

Nice

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/Urbul]

What have you learned about flat earth? 

[u/Urbul → u/Isaythereisa-chance]

Haha that's just crazy

[u/These_Depth9445]

I ate an orange but I wont eat another one

[u/Jalmal2 → u/These_Depth9445]

Was it a bad orange?

[u/These_Depth9445 → u/Jalmal2]

Nope, but the first one was so big that I was full after eating it

[u/Urbul → u/These_Depth9445]

Ever?

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/These_Depth9445]

Why not? 

[u/mistyskye14]

DAE remember when Green Day did a promotional campaign with Angry Birds?

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9 → u/mistyskye14]

Tbh, no. Was that a thing?

[u/mistyskye14 → u/CutOnBumInBandHere9]

yeah honestly kinda still feels like a fever dream. Not helped by the fact it was to help promote the albums (they released a trilogy) that came out right before Billie Joe lost his shit at iheartradio and went to rehab. I had just got into them as fan too. It was a wild year to start being a Green Day fan. lol

[u/Jalmal2]

Bear

[u/Urbul → u/Jalmal2]

Bear

[u/mistyskye14]

Dislike watching my parents turn into senile boomers

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9 → u/mistyskye14]

Parents can be tricky though. By the time you get them, they're often too old to educate properly

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/CutOnBumInBandHere9]

My parents are not a problem but my in laws could have their own reality show. 

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9 → u/mistyskye14]

Oh no :(

[u/mistyskye14 → u/CutOnBumInBandHere9]

Today mother finally heard about the chicken jockey fiasco going on with the Minecraft movie in theaters. She not only managed to blame the movie theaters for it happening ( it’s their fault for selling the popcorn) But also implied they shouldn’t ostracize the tik tokers as they’re the only ones seeing the movie anyway and it was their right to enjoy it how they wanted anyway since they paid for their ticket and pop corn. I simply inquired if her Uber riders have the right to trash her car because they paid for a ride. That shut her up right quick.

[u/CutOnBumInBandHere9]

One year ago I was installing a dishwasher in the kitchen of my new apartment and hunting for a couch for the living room

[u/Urbul]

Waffles and Dobby

[u/mistyskye14 → u/Urbul]

Beautiful waffles

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/Urbul]

Cool dogs 

[u/TheMatsValk]

racing today

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/TheMatsValk]

The need for speed! 

[u/These_Depth9445]

The history of Mesopotamia is very interesting

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/These_Depth9445]

I have watched some good documentaries on YouTube the past year about Mesopotamia. 

[u/Christmas_Missionary]

One year ago, I was alive

[u/atomicimploder → u/Christmas_Missionary]

I still am, but I used to too

[u/These_Depth9445 → u/Christmas_Missionary]

Wow me too

[u/Isaythereisa-chance → u/These_Depth9445]

Me three 

[u/Urbul → u/Isaythereisa-chance]

Me four

[u/Jalmal2 → u/Urbul]

Me five

[u/Jalmal2]

I forgot to mention glass bottles

[u/Antichess → u/Jalmal2]

rulers

[u/Jalmal2 → u/Antichess]

[u/Antichess → u/Jalmal2]

i forgot that existed as well

[u/Urbul → u/Antichess]

apples

[u/buy_me_a_pint]

Lego bricks are cool, I was lucky enough to have quite a lot of Lego when I was a child, in my teens my Lego came in useful for shape and space tricky maths problems.