Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

Life is full of great unsolved mysteries. One of the more unusual ones is the reason for

Answers users’ undying love for all things primate. Yes, it seems everyone loves a monkey: they remain a source of great curiosity.

Monkeys (in the broadest sense, i.e. chimps, apes and so on…) are often the subject of a very diverse range of questions on Answers. Since Answers is a community of people sharing their knowledge, perhaps we should celebrate the best insights from those users who can really tell their chimps from their baboons.

The fascination seems to come partly from their similarity with another well-known primate: man. This of course has led some Answers users, such as Mr Magoo, to wonder which type of primate is closest to us on the genetic scale, allowing others to display an extraordinary amount of understanding on the topic. Sally H came up with the best answer on that one, reminding everyone that “the latest comparison of genomes of humans and our closest relative, the chimpanzee, shows that we split much later than was previously assumed”. We are family!

Of course, it would be an oversight to ignore the link with another healthy debate topic, evolution. One has to wonder why, if we are evolving from them, what has caused monkeys to be still dangling around on trees while humans have evolved enough to visit the moon. Although human’s larger brain power is clearly a factor, maybe it’s a question of monkeys’ ability to communicate.

“Apes include gibbons, orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans are said to ‘chatter,’” explains David C. “Orang-utan bands in Borneo and Sumatra both make kiss-like squeaking noises to communicate, but only in Borneo have they learned to cup their hands over their mouths to change the noise.”

Answers user Mrsmoopydo has wondered why this was the case and Joseph L was on hand to come up with the explanation: “They have no vocal chords. Speech requires the use of mouth motions in conjunction with constricting of the lungs and forcing air through the vocal chords to develop sound.”

So we may never quite know what monkeys are thinking about while munching on a banana. They could well be wondering about their own sense of self. In fact the question of monkey’s sense of identity certainly led to some fierce debate. In any case, given the affection shown to them on Answers, it was perhaps inevitable that the issue of legal adoption would arise. Alas for all those monkey fanatics, some more sensible users such as Bonsylar were there to bring them back to earth and unveil the truth about what it’d be like to have a pet monkey.

So what can monkey fans do to get closer to their furry friends? Well, there are some wonderful places in the UK where you can spend hours chimp-watching, such as Monkey World in Dorset. When asked if it was worth a visit, Em was clear that it was a “great place to visit”.

Still got monkey questions? Why not post it in our Zoology category.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

The summer music festival season is almost upon us and 2007 looks set to be one of the loudest and proudest yet. With soaring temperatures and UK sets from the likes of The Who (Glastonbury, Somerset June 25th – 27th), The Rolling Stones (Isle of Wight, June 8th – 10th) and the much talked about reformation of The Smashing Pumpkins (Reading and Leeds respectively, Friday 24th to Sunday 26th August), the UK looks set to be rocking, the land over.

2007 also sees the rise of the smaller festivals and some have grown in considerable notoriety since their humble beginnings. Kicking things off for the ‘indie’ contingent at the start of the festival run is The Camden Crawl (North London, 19th and 20th April) which involves trekking through North London’s infamous smaller venues and discovering a whole host of small, quirky and often ‘set for big things’ acts in the process.

Following suit, there are many more of these smaller events including Oxfordshire’s barn dance that is the Truck festival (Oxfordshire, 21st-22nd July) and one of the summers (not so small anymore) finales Bestival held on the Isle of Wight (Newport, 7th-9th September).

However it is the major festivals such as V Festival (Chelmsford and Staffordshire respectively, 18th and 19th August), The Carling Weekend and Glastonbury that still hold the musical monopoly, and if its world beating bands that you want to see then this is where you have to be.

You just have to look at the rumoured line up for the Godfather of festivals, Glastonbury, to know this to be true. Back from its year long sabbatical in 2006 to let the otherwise working farms fields recover, the blogosphere rumour mill has been working overtime on this festival and it seems that the worlds greatest in rock and roll could be heading down to Somerset this June including The Killers, Kasabian, The Arctic Monkeys, Arcade Fire and amongst many others the mod kings, The Who. As Les asks on Yahoo! Answers, just who will take the organiser Michael Eavis’ crown of ‘biggest band in the world’ for the headlining Saturday night slot? Like many festival goers out there Chunk is currently “debating whether or not [she] should go to Glastonbury” due to the yearly torrential downpour and mud slides that the Glastonbury revellers are faced with.

As rock and roll continues to gain in popularity be sure to not only catch your favourite bands but to also look out for the growing base of celebrities that now don their (albeit expensive and certainly designer) festival gear and gather at the various music events. One celeb favourite has to be the V Festival where you are sure to see a gaggle of all classes from movie stars to reality TV participants all hoping to raise their profile by being seen watching this years ‘cool’ bands.

Whatever your musical preference be it ‘indie rock’, metal or dance there is a festival out there for you in the UK this summer. Just a brief look through the line ups at the many nationwide events that are taking place is almost enough to make you want to instantly crack open and warm larger and bask in the musical glory that awaits you. So follow dave69sm’s new found advice from the Answers community after he asked for any “hints and tips” that previous attendees may be able to give on festival essentials. It seemed that the general consensus was to go and grab that flea infested tent, chuck in the baked beans and your other festival essentials and head down to the event of your fancy. Oh and remember one thing… don’t forget your wellies!

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland team

Featured User – Moose

Our featured user for this week, Moose, has certainly shown that wisdom doesn’t only come with age. Still a teenager, working hard for his A Levels, Moose has delved deep into the world of PCs and the web and become a pro in the process. Standing proudly at level 6, he has been spreading his techie knowledge around the Computers & Internet category on Answers for nearly a year.

We all know that computers can be very baffling for some. For Moose, they’ve always been plain simple. By helping novices to understand what a ‘program’ is and explaining to others the differences between programs such as Word and Excel, Moose has built up over 11,000 points. Of course, his PC wisdom stretches much further as he has solved Mommakat420’s webcam worries and given step by step instructions to another user who was puzzled when it came to setting up a wireless mouse.

In his own words, Moose says: “My main interests are simple computers; I live for the software and technical help, and plan to study more into the Internet.” Judging from his answers, he already seems like a little wizard of the World Wide Web. When Internet jargon such as ‘spam’ left an Answerer confused, and a dictionary offered no help, our young expert was there to present them with a great definition.

Firewalls are another aspect of computers, which haven’t always been the easiest thing to make sense of. Moose advises a user well though when he says: “It [a firewall] will slow down programs that run networks online, but we are talking about less then a second’s difference. A firewall simply blocks unwanted traffic such as hackers. If you disable your firewall you won’t have a PC system within a few hours”

When speaking about Answers, Moose explains: “…if I know that I can advise users with any valuable information then I love to post an answer”. Well, that is definitely one of the best reasons to visit the site, and it’s highly encouraging to know that young masters like Moose are regular users.

We’d like to congratulate you Moose and as always, appreciate your incredible contribution to Answers.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

In the second edition of the World of Answers series we look at exciting holiday destinations for spring…

Spring has almost sprung, so what better idea than to swap the overload of eating too many choccie Easter eggs for the chance to get away from it all and spend your bank holiday weekend somewhere different?

Holidays between March and June offer the best chances to get to warmer climes on the cheap. Travelling out of peak season means you get less crowded cities, hotels and beaches for usually a lot less money than the average summer holiday. If you’ve got the inclination here are some suggestions of the best destinations for 2007.

First up is Morocco: Enchanting and accessible, this North African nation has all the makings of a good holiday.

Toby B has already booked his flight but wants some real advice to make the most of his holiday: “What I’d like to know is if you have any experiences that you’d like to share, any things/sights/places that you found that blew your socks off?” Luckily Grpr1964 has experienced Marrakesh. “The best memory I have is chilling out late one afternoon in one of the city’s tranquil palmeries (gardens) and simply lying there and listening to the general commotion of the city, and the calling of the mosques. And it really is true what they say about the stars… get out into the mountains or the desert and the night sky will blow your mind!”

It’s safety rather than sights that’s on Misseligett’s mind, wondering if it’s okay for female travellers. Tia is quick to reassure them. “It’s much safer than you think. Be aware of their culture and religion…this does not mean you have to completely ‘cover up’, just be respectful.” She adds, “There’s also a village called Oukaimeden, which is beautiful and worth a visit.”

If the thought of perfect beaches appeals more than city’s hustle and bustle, Bee_ha recommends Egypt’s Red Sea coast. More famous for some of the world’s best diving spots than pyramids, places like Sharm El Sheikh offer warmer weather than Europe this time of year. “It’s on the Sinai Peninsula and temperatures are usually in the low 30 °C already. There are beaches, diving and most water sports and lots of land-based things to do too, like quad biking and dessert trips.”

Finally, if you still fancy making a break for it over Easter and flying off to do something different then what could be better than heading to Thailand to take part in the world’s biggest water fight.

On and around April 13th every year, the country plays host to Songkran, or the Thai New Year where people of all ages take to the streets with water pistols, balloons and even buckets to enjoy the water-throwing festival. Thailand is extremely hot then so spending your holiday getting drenched could be quite tempting.

There is always much debate about which is the best place to spend Songkran as some cities celebrate for up to five days! Donnyx had a bit of a shock when he went to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand: “Chiang Mai celebrates Songkran with a vengeance. I mean that quite literally…Be sure to bring a supply of Ziploc (re-sealable plastic) bags to protect your wallet, camera etc.” At least with Answers for ideas, holidays will never be boring again!

Coming up in World of Answers series, we’re going back to Bulgaria and seeing how far families really have to go to keep the kids happy. Until next time!

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day has now become an institution in the UK and once again it is upon us today. For those of you from outside our shores, or who have been living in a cave without TV for the last decade here is a bit of background…

Comic Relief are a fundraising charity set up by comedians looking to eliminate poverty in both Africa and the UK. One of the events Comic Relief organise every two years is Red Nose Day where everyone in the UK is encouraged to throw caution to the wind, cast their inhibitions aside, put on a red nose and do something wild to raise money!

This years’ event is called The Big One. Why? Because it is the biggest ever red nose of course!

Red Nose Day has been responsible for some classic comedy moments on British TV. For example, who can remember Ali G interviewing the Beckhams? Or Peter Kay showcasing his new “(Is This the Way to) Amarillo” video on the show?

Comedy and humour are often touted as one of the strongest elements of British culture. We have a long history of exporting laughs, from Monty Python, through The Young Ones to recent successes such as The Office – all classical British comedy that translate to get the laughs anywhere in the world. But what exactly is British humour and why don’t the Americans get it? Or do they?

A recent British comedian, Rowan Atkinson, is a prime example of someone taking British humour to the world – and he does it without saying a word! By facial expressions and being, well, incredibly annoying, Mr Bean, and his icon of Britishness – the Mini, has taken the world by storm. Attempting the impossible is a long running theme in British humour and in typical slapstick fashion Mr Bean has asked you guys to come up with a solution to one of his comedic problems: how would you go about squeezing the most amount of people into Mr Bean’s mini?

So today we hope you carry on laughing and spare a thought for charity as you do!

–Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team