World's Biggest Liar

The World's Biggest Liar competition is held every November at the Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge, in memory of Will Ritson (1808–1890), a pub landlord^[3] from Wasdale, who was well known for his "tall tales".^[4] One of Ritson's most famous fibs was that turnips grew so large in the Lake District that people carved them out to make cow sheds.^[4]

The World's Biggest Liar competition is held every November at the Bridge Inn, Santon Bridge, in memory of Will Ritson (1808–1890), a pub landlord^[3] from Wasdale, who was well known for his "tall tales".^[4] One of Ritson's most famous fibs was that turnips grew so large in the Lake District that people carved them out to make cow sheds.^[4]

In 2003, Abrie Krueger of South Africa was named the world's biggest liar after telling a story about how he was crowned King of the Wasdale Valley. This marked the first time that a foreigner had won the competition, which was marked with allegations of Krueger having cheated.^[5] A Bishop of Carlisle^[6] was supposed to have once won the competition with the shortest-ever speech; he simply said, "I have never told a lie in my life."^[7]

Comedienne Sue Perkins won the competition in 2006, marking the first time in the event's history that a woman won the competition.^[1] Her winning tall tale was about how theozone layer became damaged, ice caps melted and people had to be taken to work on camels.^[1]

In 2008, John "Johnny Liar" Graham won the competition for the seventh time after telling the judges a story of a magical ride to Scotland in a wheelie bin that went under the sea.^[4] The previous year Graham's winning lie was that a World War II German submarine had invaded Britain to capture digital television decoders.^[2]

Paul Burrows from Essex won the competition in 2010. He told a story of how the lakes and mountains of the Cumbrian countryside had been stolen from the county of Essex, leaving it as flat as it is today.^[8]

The 2011 winner is Glen Boylan. His story involved betting on a snail race with Prince Charles (who advised him to remove the shell to make it more aerodynamic) and losing because his opponents cheated with battery-operated snails.^[9][10]

2013 saw Mike Naylor win for the third time of his Lying career. Naylor, a 57 year old man from Wasdale told a story about Wassie, the monster that lives in Wastwater, the local lake. ^[11]

Bishop Rock: The Smallest Island in the World

Bishop Rock is a small rocky ledge jutting out of the sea, 4 miles west of the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall. The rock rises from a depth of 45 meter to expose a tip 46 meters long by 16 meters wide. On this narrow ledge stands a lighthouse, which makes Bishop Rock the world's smallest island with a building on it, as recognized by the Guinness Book of Records.

The rocks around the Scilly Isles caused the wreck of many ships over the years. When Sir Cloudesley Shovel's squadron of the British Fleet sank in 1707 along with 2,000 men, the Elder Brethren of Trinity House decided that the lighting of the Scilly Isles, which at that time consisted of only the old lighthouse at St. Agnes, was inadequate, and resolved to build a lighthouse on the most westerly danger, the Bishop Rock.

James Walker, Engineer in Chief to Trinity House, was against building a solid granite tower on Bishop Rock arguing that the rock ledge was too small and the elements too powerful. He claimed that such a tower would not withstand the tremendous force of the seas, demonstrating that the wind pressures here sometimes exceeded 7,000 lb per square foot.

So in 1847, it was decided to erect a screw-pile lighthouse at a cost of £12,000. The first task was to sink cast iron legs into the solid granite, braced and stayed with wrought iron rods. The idea was that the waves would crash right through the piles instead of slamming into a solid masonry tower. Within two years the structure was complete and all that was required was a lighting apparatus. Before it could be completed the following season, a heavy gale swept away the whole structure on the evening of 5th February 1850.

James Walker shrugged off the news and this time turned to the idea of a granite tower. It was a dangerous task, becase the sea was rough and the island too small. The workmen had to be housed on a small nearby uninhabited islet, where living quarters and workshops were erected. The men were carried to and from the site as the weather permitted  All the granite were brought over from the mainland to the island depot where it was shaped and numbered before being sent to the rock. After seven years labour the tower was finally completed in 1858.

In the old days the 49-meter lighthouse had to rely on paraffin vapour lamps and, before that, candles. Today there are generators and batteries and a helipad was built in 1976. Bishop Rock was converted to automatic operation in 1991 and the last keepers left the lighthouse in December 1992.  Today the lighthouse has ten floors, and up to four visitors can stay here for a week to three weeks.

French Cafe Charges Rude Customers More Than Double

Here's a cafe that's being proactive about customer behavior towards waitstaff: A Nice-Matinreporter tweeted a photo of the menu at La Petite Syrah in Nice, France, where customers who order their coffee politely are charged significantly less than those who don't. Customers who order their coffee with a "bonjour" and a "s'il vous plaît" (hello and please, respectively) are charged €1.40 ($1.93 USD). A coffee ordered with no greeting but with "s'il vous plaît" costs €4.25 ($5.85), and a coffee ordered simply as "un café" costs €7 ($9.63).

The cafe owner tells the Local that the tiered pricing structure started as a joke, a response to "very stressed" and "sometimes rude" lunch customers. "I know people say that French service can be rude," he adds "but it's also true that customers can be rude when they're busy." Apparently there has been an improvement in customer attitude. This isn't the first time a cafe or restaurant owner has used pricing to incentivize better behavior in a restaurant. Earlier this year a restaurant in Beirut began offering 10% discount to any customers who would surrender their phones and socialize. Similarly, last year Eva Restaurant in Los Angeles offered a 5% discount to guests who "checked" their phones.

An Island within a Lake on an Island within a Lake on an Island

Vulcan Point in the Philippines is the world's largest island within a lake (Main Crater Lake) that is situated on an island (Volcano Island, aka Taal Island) located in a lake (Lake Taal) within an island (Luzon). It also happens to be one of the cones of the active Taal Volcano, so Vulcan Point is also the world’s largest volcano in a lake (Main Crater Lake) on a volcano (Taal Volcano). And Main Crater Lake also happens to be the largest lake on an island (Volcano Island) in a lake (Lake Taal) on an island (Luzon). Got that?

Actually, Vulcan Point is relatively tiny, but it and its parent volcano, Taal Volcano, are popular tourist destinations, due to the spectacular views afforded by their geography, not to mention some clever marketing: “One of the curiosities of Taal Volcano is not just the fact that the volcano has a lake inside its crater but that there is yet another island on that lake. Apparently, it is just one of the many cones of Taal Volcano. The name of the island is Vulcan Point. It is not particularly large; in fact, one would probably have difficulty erecting a house in such a small piece of land. This is often marketed in a rather amusing way—‘an island within a lake, on an island within a lake on an island’” (source).

“Taal Volcano is a complex volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Historical eruptions are concentrated on Volcano Island, an island near the middle of Lake Taal. The lake partially fills Taal Caldera, which was formed by prehistoric very powerful eruptions. Viewed from Tagaytay Ridge, Taal Volcano and Lake presents one of the most picturesque and attractive views in the Philippines. It is located about 50 km (31 miles) from the capital of the country, the city of Manila. The volcano had several violent eruptions in the past causing loss of life in the island and the populated areas surrounding the lake, with the death toll estimated at around 5,000 to 6,000. Because of its proximity to populated areas and its eruptive history, the volcano was designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of close study to prevent future natural disasters. It is one of the active volcanoes in the Philippines and part of the Pacific ring of fire...The 1911 eruption drastically changed the floor of the main crater. Before the eruption, the crater was above sea level. Vulcan Point was the remnant of the old crater floor that is surrounded by a lake about 2 kilometers (2,000 m) across, called Main Crater Lake. Vulcan Point is cited in the Philippines as the world's largest island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island, i.e., Vulcan Point within Crater Lake, on Taal Island within Lake Taal, on the island of Luzon”