Posted: 5^th June 2017

Ich bin die fesche Lola, der Liebling der Saison

Ich hab' ein Pianola zu Haus' in mein' Salon...

Let me reaffirmate that right from the get-go.

General Glen McMahon (Brad Pitt), in War Machine

• For our June Create Challenge, we are asking you to provide some alternative history² by changing one thing about the past. We also said, incautiously, 'Don't step on any butterflies.' So naturally, Freewayriding's story is called 'Treading on Butterflies'. Ich kenne meine Pappenheimer³, and should have expected this. But nobody could have expected this devastating beginning to a month of speculation. You're going to be comparing FWR to Serling or Ellison before you finish reading this short-short mind-blower.

• Bluebottle has outdone himself this time. Not only has he baffled ELIZA the chatbot analyst with even more Monty Python quips, but he's gifted the h2g2 Post with a new quiz series, which launches this very week! How we could have lived so long without it, we don't know, but rejoice, Hitchhikers: 'Written in Black and Wight' will test your knowledge of speech on the fabled Isle of Wight. Now you will know how to talk to the natives when you attend the next rock festival. This week's quiz: the letter A. More to follow. Bluebottle is on holiday, but we're sure he'll check in from time to time, so be sure to leave scores, comments, and Isle of Wight jokes.
• Awix sent in this gob-smacking review with the comment, 'Another one which is quite difficult to put into words...' I replied, 'This fits perfectly into this week's issue. And I know what that sounds like.' You might find that The Red Turtle is just the film for you. If so,
  tell us.
• Willem has another kitty. Not just any kitty. This one's an Anthill Tiger. It's little but fierce. It will make you exclaim, 'Awww. . .OUCH!' Learn about it from the expert artist.
• Our Caption Challenge comes to us courtesy of Kitkat's school outing to Philadelphia. Your Editor used to be a part-time tour guide on this historic street, and we'd appreciate some witty captions. Remember: the rebel leaders of 1776 used to buy their ketchup here⁴, while dodging chickens and horse apples.
• We quiz you on statistical stuff, show you a flying object you might not see in your neighbourhood, and make the usual lame attempts at humour. We also invite you to consider the events of 1914 from a truly h2g2 perspective: i.e., from both sides of the lines. Travel writer Lady Jephson, a tasteful person whose slimline telephone would never be associated with a Chinese takeaway, was seriously inconvenienced by it all. On the other hand, Austrian painter Paul Cohen-Portheim found internment a life-changing experience, and the Isle of Man picturesque. Check it all out below.

Opie's decided to remodel my lawn as the Somme!
Freewayriding

Superfrenchie spent Towel Day on a picturesque Normandy beach. And no, we're not envious – much!

Dmitri Gheorgheni

• Colours of Wildlife

The fearsome Anthill Tiger.

• h2g2 Caption Challenge

History Street.

THINKING OUTSIDE ALL THE BOXES

• 24 Lies a Second


What wild coast is this?

• The Post Quiz

Crunch some numbers.

• Picture Quiz

Identified flying objects.

• Art History 101

Slow, but deadly.

EUROPEAN RELATIONS AND THEIR DISCONTENTS

• h2g2 Literary Corner

Was the Rhine boring?

• Out-of-Print
  Book Review

Internees.

• Create June

Treading on Butterflies.

• Bluebottle Blog

ELIZA vs Python

• Gheorgheniplex

That's a 10-4.

• Writing Right with Dmitri

Bring on the capitalist porn.

• June Create

Change one thing.

• Written in Black and Wight

A is for aaterclaps.

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