Saturday, April 08, 2006

A Myth Or A Legend

I am not sure if the following story falls under either of the two categories of myth or legend, but I will use my discretion and assume that the following story deserves to be in such elite company. It all started on the 29th of February, 1900 in a small hamlet in northern Pakistan, the name of which I forget.

The place was a naval base and almost all the men were sailors in that place. They had this strange belief that if their voyages would never be successful unless they took the blessings of the Queen of England and the Queen also granted them this wish and she would bless them before they left for their trips. On that particular day the sailors set sail for England to meet the Queen, and after a few days of traveling they came to the Suez Canal and suddenly they were caught in the doldrums, the situation where the sea almost comes to a standstill and there isn’t anything left for the sailors to do but wait for winds. So to pass time they decided to play Rubik’s cube and the one who won would be allowed to go home. While playing the game one of them suddenly noticed a seagull and this was a clear sign of the doldrums moving away…..

Okay enough, I can’t make any more of this legend myself, please help me with some creative ideas and if possible please send me some stinker mails because of the following, which even if you missed, will make you feel as bad as you would have had you noticed them:

· The year 1900 was not a leap year, in case of century years, only if it’s divisible by 400 does it become a leap year. 2000 was a leap year and so was 1600.

· There was no country in 1900 called Pakistan.

· Northern Pakistan is a land locked area and so there can be no naval base there and generally no soldiers either.

· At that point of time England had a king and not a queen.

· The Suez Canal was not built by then.

· The doldrums are near 40 degree latitude in the southern hemisphere and nowhere near the Mediterranean Sea

· Rubik’s cube was invented much later

· Seagulls are found mainly in the Southern hemisphere and definitely not in that area

Please do tell me if there were any more bloopers (rest are unintentional) in the legend of ….

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