Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

Last weekend England welcomed the world’s most famous cycling event: the Tour de France. The Lycra-clad athletes took to the London streets for the very first time. Today they return to the event’s founding country itself. To celebrate the occasion the Answers blog brings to you our very own tour of France, taking in all the sights you can encounter along the route of this epic race.

While a recent tradition is to start the competition in different countries, Le Tour remains a quintessentially French sporting event and unfolds like a marvelous guidebook that takes you through some of the most beautiful, scenic and culturally interesting parts of the country.

This year, the link between England and France will be the Northern town of Dunkirk. Given the impracticality of underwater cycling, the 190 or so participants will leave the UK on a ferry and start the French leg of the Tour in a place charged with historical memories for both countries.

As they head south, these athletes will have to endure some pretty tough moments, such as going up, up, up and then eventually down through the Alps. This is scary stuff by any athletic standard and Answerers are generally not in a rush to visit this lovely piece of French scenery in this way, which may explain why so many of you were familiar with the best ski resorts in the area.

After all these efforts, cyclists and answerers alike could be forgiven if they just wanted to sit down on the Canebière in Marseille and sip a pastis by the port. They could also go and explore the unique local “calanques” waterways and beautiful beaches that surround the city. While cyclists will only have a very short break in Marseille, if any at all, those with a little more time on their hands would be well advised to look no further than Answers for tips about what they can do in this unique city.

After another tiring section through the stunning backdrops of the Pyrenees, the Tour will halt in Angouleme and the Cognac region. Of course, the name of Cognac is known throughout the world for the fine spirits produced there, though some like Jez G are not clear what the differences between Cognac, Armagnac and brandy really are. Answers is also able to explain the difference between a good Cognac and a great oneor how it should be preserved

After a tiring but beautiful journey, the Tour comes to rest in Paris, a wonderful city for anyone to reach. Once you get a hotel room there – thanks to Rillifane we know where we should be looking – it will be time to explore the many wonders of the French capital or perhaps do what cyclists do best, which is to get on their bike and explore the surroundings of the city. Godspeed!

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

 On Saturday 07/07/07 seven continents across the globe will pull together for a live 24hr green concert for ‘a climate in crisis’. The Live Earth concert will be the first ever green event with eco-friendly electricity, sustainable lighting and carbon neutral travel. The estimated one billion viewers will see a line-up set to make musical and political history which includes acts such Madonna, the Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chilli Peppers performing right here in the UK.

SOS, the organisation behind the concert, is asking people to sign a pledge which aims to encourage political leaders to take action against the climate crisis and to empower individuals to commit to changing their own behaviors. The Yahoo! Answers community have also voiced worries about the climate change crisis and whether people are prepared to change their ways. There are examples of what people have already done and what can be done in the home to reduce global warming. For more, check out the global warming category on Answers.

Cycling to work, planting a tree, looking into your next holiday being in the UK or investing in solar roof panels are just some of green living ideas on Answers. Then you can sit back and watch the concert live from your living room feeling like you have made some steps prevent climate change. Oh and don’t forget you can make a commitment by signing the pledge.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

Climate change quick links:

• Are biofuels the answer to our fuel energy crisis?
• Climate change: is it natural or man made?
• Can the damage caused be reversed?
• If global warming does happen what will Great Britain look like?
• If we all took more care on how we got to our holiday destinations would global warming be slowed?

 Congratulations to this week’s featured user bh8153 who has reached level 6 by gaining 20,577 points and submitting 1221 best answers. A retired computer programmer, he explains that, “I have always been interested in the history of the development of computers.” His interest has allowed him to help others learn from his computing knowledge. Yet he’s very far from just a computer expert.

“My other areas of interest and acquired knowledge … are in mathematics, especially number theory and cryptology; in astronomy, geology and geophysics; and in a few special topics in history.”

His modest description here belies the fact that bh8135 is a top contributor in the mathematics category and has helped many a fellow answerer with complicated conundrums.

bh8135 often solves difficult problems such as, “How much does one barrel of crude oil weigh?” by using his arithmetic ability combined with his general knowledge:

“One barrel of oil is 35 UK gallons, which would weigh 350 lbs, if it was water. The lightest naturally produced crude oils have a density about 0.85 that of water, so a barrel would weigh just under 300 lbs. The density of the very heaviest oils can reach 1.05, or nearly 370 lbs per barrel.”

As his diverse interests show, bh8135 doesn’t limit himself to tricky math formulae. He has given well-informed answers about the causes of the precession on the earth’s axis:

“The Earth’s tilted axis, equatorial bulge, and daily rotation cause the precession … The part of the bulge nearest the Sun is 8000 miles closer than the part furthest away. When the axis is tilted sideways relative to the Sun, this doesn’t matter, and the pull is even. When the axis is tilted towards or away from the Sun, the slightly stronger pull on the nearer part causes a twisting force. If the Earth wasn’t rotating, this wouldn’t matter either, but it is, so it does. It twists very slowly because of the gentle twist caused by the Sun twice a year.”

In the past he has also given advice about which university a prospective science undergraduate should attend; he’s explained the rules of succession in the British monarchy; and has even revealed the meaning of Latin quotations.

When asked why he likes to use Yahoo! Answers, he replied: “When you find a serious question that you think you can really help someone with, it makes it worth while.” Thank you for your contributions bh8135 and we hope you continue to share your deep reserves of knowledge.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

Five bh8153 best answers:

• Who invented the computer?
• What is the shortest canal on earth?
• What underwater animal can sustain the most amount of water pressure?
• How do ships detect submarines?
• Is the saying “the exception proves the rule” incompatible with the scientific method?