Three score and ten observations of pith and moment
Why is every successful new film automatically the biggest box office grosser of all time?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ten Activities Which Might Be More Attractive If It Were Not for the Unattractiveness of Some of the People Involved
Fox hunting
Darts
Opera
Christianity
Skiing
Jazz
Snooker
The Monarchy
Rugby Union
Politics
Ten Activities Which
Exist Only Because They
Give a Great Deal of Pleasure to the Participants and
Despite the Fact They Give None at All to the Onlookers
or Listeners
Amateur dramatics
Scat singing
Drum solos
Church sermons
Morris dancing
School plays
Parachute jumping
Party conferences
Mini golf
The Booker Prize
Ten Things Which Become
Unpleasant When Wet
Bath mats
Corn flakes
Conservative politicians
Newspapers left out in rain
A supposedly rainproof Dryzabone hat
Potato crisps
The little pile of salt on the side of your plate
Cats
Confetti
Large areas of Welsh farmland
Ten Great Modern Mysteries
Why do computer magazines all look so badly designed?
Why is so much advanced computer knowledge spread by such an old-fashioned medium as a magazine?
Why is everything hailed as the new rock'n'roll, and nothing ever hailed as the new sex or drugs?
Why was Rumer Godden called Rumer?
Why is every successful new film automatically the biggest box office grosser of all time?
Why are they called block-busters?
Who ever reads the credits on a feature film?
Whatever happened to Swampy?
Why do insurance salesmen desperate to sell you something use your first name in every sentence until it drives you mad and you refuse to buy it?
What is this thing called love?
Ten Things We Won't Have
to Endure Until the Next
Century
The next World Cup
The next Olympic Games
Another British general election
Another big royal birthday
Another much-heralded but, as it turns out, invisible shower of shooting stars
Another not very interesting battle to be Poet Laureate
The first ever Millennium Dome retrospective post-mortem
The excitement of having a high speed link to the Channel Tunnel
The Euro
Another Eurovision Song Contest with Irish dancers all over the place
The sight of unemployed hereditary peers in the streets, selling The Big Issue
Ten Unpleasant Smells
The smell of the air which you let out of a tyre
The smell of damp bathing suits
The smell of the hair of the person in front of you in the theatre
The smell of too much aftershave
The smell of fear
The smell of a new pub
The smell of rain on clothes
The smell of a room that nobody's been in for years
The smell of a sleeping dog's fart
The smell of your own breath
Ten Famous Songs Whose
Titles Are Actually a Direct
Contradiction of the Truth
"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"
"I'm the Sheik of Araby"
"A Boy's Best Friend Is His Mother"
"Our Love is Here to Stay"
"I've Got The World On a String"
"It's Only a Paper Moon"
"We're Going to Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line"
"Life Begins at Forty"
"There'll Be Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover"
"It's a Long Long Way to Tipperary"
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments