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Captain Flint |
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159073. Fri Mar 23, 2007 4:17 am |
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Would this work? Only if we can find a good context for it, I would think. Pieces of Eight, maybe.
There have been at least thirty film versions of Treasure Island, including one by the Muppets. Can you tell us who played Captain Flint in any of them?
A: "Polly", probably - Captain Flint is the name of Long John Silver's parrot, whose catchphrase is "Pieces of Eight".
The human Flint is dead before the story starts; it's his buried treasure they're looking for. Regrettably, some of the films do seem to have shown him in flashback, but I don't think it spoils the gag. |
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159074. Fri Mar 23, 2007 4:21 am |
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Quote: | The finding of a parrot with an almost unparalleled power to communicate with people has brought scientists up short.
The bird, a captive African grey called N'kisi, has a vocabulary of 950 words, and shows signs of a sense of humour.
He invents his own words and phrases if he is confronted with novel ideas with which his existing repertoire cannot cope - just as a human child would do.
N'kisi's remarkable abilities feature in the latest BBC Wildlife Magazine.
N'kisi is believed to be one of the most advanced users of human language in the animal world.
About 100 words are needed for half of all reading in English, so if N'kisi could read he would be able to cope with a wide range of material. |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3430481.stm |
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159076. Fri Mar 23, 2007 4:23 am |
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As pointed out by Fred otherwhere:
Quote: | In the US the Spanish dollar or peso was common currency well into the 19th century. The coin, originally the bullion coin of Spain's New World empire was often physically cut into eight pieces for small change - hence the term 'pieces of eight'. Two-eighths hence made a quarter so a quarter dollar (25 cents) is known as 'two bits'. |
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