Weekly Bonus Question
Welcome to the Weekly Bonus Question.
Each week the news quiz will offer an answer. You are invited to suggest what the question might have been.
Suggestions should be sent using the COMMENTS BOX IN THIS ENTRY. Any answers submitted using the "Send us a letter" form on the right will be summarily ignored.
And since nobody likes a smart alec, kudos will be deducted for predictability in your suggestions.
This week's answer is THE MACHINES MAY SWITCH THEMSELVES OFF.
UPDATE 1752 BST: The answer is an attempt to tackle problem gamblers in Catalonia - fruit machines must be reprogrammed to tell them how long they've been playing, and may switch themselves off. (More details - )
Of your spurious entries, we liked:
- DrGonzo's What happens if I press this...?
- Alex's Why is giving white goods the right to strike a bad idea?
- ARoseByAnyOther's What was Kraftwerk's biggest fear?
- Yashi's After 25 years of looking, what will happen if you still can not find the 'any' key?
- and BeckySnow's The lukewarm sounding next title in the Terminator franchise?
Thanks to all who entered.
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Comment number 1.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:The lukewarm sounding next title in the Terminator franchise?
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Comment number 2.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:Dark happenings at Curry's.
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Comment number 3.
At 4th Jun 2010, rogueslr wrote:What happens when you when you try to record England games on Scottish DVD recorders?
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Comment number 4.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:When White Goods Go Bad
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Comment number 5.
At 4th Jun 2010, Pendragon wrote:What's the result of Mechanical Migraine?
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Comment number 6.
At 4th Jun 2010, Pendragon wrote:What happens when robots have brains the size of planets?
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Comment number 7.
At 4th Jun 2010, rogueslr wrote:What's the latest bug fix cure in Windows 7?
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Comment number 8.
At 4th Jun 2010, Pendragon wrote:dIe, Robot?
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Comment number 9.
At 4th Jun 2010, Pendragon wrote:What legend does Microsoft plan to replace the Blue Screen of Death with?
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Comment number 10.
At 4th Jun 2010, BaldoBingham wrote:What may happen when you break one of the Three Laws of Robotics?
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Comment number 11.
At 4th Jun 2010, BaldoBingham wrote:What does the instruction label on a plug say about removing it from the socket?
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Comment number 12.
At 4th Jun 2010, Addup2 wrote:What's the new plan to use the bank's computers to stop another stock market crash?
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Comment number 13.
At 4th Jun 2010, Valerie Ganne wrote:The Scots MacHine clan was very independent
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Comment number 14.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:When really obese people get on the scales
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Comment number 15.
At 4th Jun 2010, Valerie Ganne wrote:What's the latest parental control on Freeview?
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Comment number 16.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:When you travel by train and there are leaves on the track
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Comment number 17.
At 4th Jun 2010, Valerie Ganne wrote:What can airport scanners do when ugly people walk through?
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Comment number 18.
At 4th Jun 2010, rogueslr wrote:What happens if you swear at your SatNav for directing down a one way street the wrong way?
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Comment number 19.
At 4th Jun 2010, webbod wrote:Typo in euthanasia guidelines confounds assisted suicide campaigners.
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Comment number 20.
At 4th Jun 2010, Mike wrote:Our strategy against Germany in the second round is that we hope that..
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Comment number 21.
At 4th Jun 2010, Valerie Ganne wrote:What's the rather lacklustre ending to the next Doctor Who Dalek episode?
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Comment number 22.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:Manchester united are well oiled but every now and again
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Comment number 23.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:Stay the patient course.
Of little worth is your ire.
The network is down
Microsft Haiku
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Comment number 24.
At 4th Jun 2010, rogueslr wrote:What happens when you combine the V-Chip with South Park and Family Guy?
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Comment number 25.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:Having been erased,
The document you're seeking
Must now be retyped.
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Comment number 26.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
To a simple stone.
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Comment number 27.
At 4th Jun 2010, Bellhouse Hartwell wrote:What will the 91Èȱ¬ MM computers do if you submit a WBQ in the "Send us a letter" form on the right?
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Comment number 28.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:With searching comes loss
And the presence of absence:
"My Novel" not found
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Comment number 29.
At 4th Jun 2010, Rod wrote:One Tory to another:
Don't upset the Grey vote because...
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Comment number 30.
At 4th Jun 2010, Vic BW wrote:Machines form a union and go on strike.
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Comment number 31.
At 4th Jun 2010, LaurenceLane wrote:What happens when moderators overheat?
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Comment number 32.
At 4th Jun 2010, thingstosay wrote:what happens when Gordon brown starts talking machine language?
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Comment number 33.
At 4th Jun 2010, Rod wrote:Seven-of-Nine in 100 years:
Don't look in the mirror because...
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Comment number 34.
At 4th Jun 2010, Bellhouse Hartwell wrote:Why was working for the Mission Impossible squad a lot safer nowadays?
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Comment number 35.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:Press 1 if you have a fault, press 2 for bill enquiries, press 3 to speak to an operator but
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Comment number 36.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:If Noel Edmonds does a shirt wash at the launderette.
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Comment number 37.
At 4th Jun 2010, Etienne wrote:What is the danger of artificial intelligence?
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Comment number 38.
At 4th Jun 2010, Bellhouse Hartwell wrote:What is the new failsafe device on all British televisions for when the Eurovision Song Contest is on?
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Comment number 39.
At 4th Jun 2010, Bellhouse Hartwell wrote:What is the function of the Dead Man's Handle, which only works properly during testing?
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Comment number 40.
At 4th Jun 2010, Bellhouse Hartwell wrote:Why is a Dead Man's Handle not fitted to all aircraft?
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Comment number 41.
At 4th Jun 2010, christianjimmy wrote:What's the nightmare scenario if televisions get bored of the saturation coverage of the world cup?
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Comment number 42.
At 4th Jun 2010, Nick Fowler wrote:How does Toyota get round the legal issues?
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Comment number 43.
At 4th Jun 2010, Nick Fowler wrote:What sign goes with a simple on-off switch to get Toyota back onto the market?
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Comment number 44.
At 4th Jun 2010, christianjimmy wrote:What will be first warning sign that white goods are throwing off the shackles of slavery and preparing to overthrow their human masters?
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Comment number 45.
At 4th Jun 2010, Nick Fowler wrote:What sign has the 91Èȱ¬ finally discovered on the Roy Clarke comedy-writing automaton?
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Comment number 46.
At 4th Jun 2010, Nick Fowler wrote:What has BA found stitched into the uniforms of all its cabin staff?
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Comment number 47.
At 4th Jun 2010, Mike wrote:When the cashpoints sees me approaching...
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Comment number 48.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tom Webb wrote:What happens when the new "Ash Detectors" on the Easyjet planes detect Ash?
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Comment number 49.
At 4th Jun 2010, David wrote:What is Becky Snow' threatened order if she is banned from this competition ?
PS I'll vote for all her Haiku. Can we have some more please.
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Comment number 50.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:What should you try to forget as you take your seat on the fastest, highest, scariest ride at the travelling fairground?
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Comment number 51.
At 4th Jun 2010, Susan Docherty wrote:What happens if you try to Sky + too much football?
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Comment number 52.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:It's not you're doing Dave, it's how you're doing it?
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Comment number 53.
At 4th Jun 2010, Mark Santos wrote:If you could name one improvement to the machines which operate in the Gulf Of Mexico Oil Well, what would it be?
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Comment number 54.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:My fridge and I have a complicated relationship?
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Comment number 55.
At 4th Jun 2010, Steve Sutton wrote:What was the rejected working title of E. M. Forster's short story?
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Comment number 56.
At 4th Jun 2010, Steele Hawker wrote:What is the first of Confucius' Three Laws of Abacus-otics?
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Comment number 57.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:Are you really going to wash those red socks with those dark colours?
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Comment number 58.
At 4th Jun 2010, ynda20 wrote:As soon as you get close to the truth about what really happened on 9/11...
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Comment number 59.
At 4th Jun 2010, Steele Hawker wrote:What science-fiction story was Charles Dickens working on when he died?
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Comment number 60.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:if you get too smoochy with the wife
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Comment number 61.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:#49 More Microsft Haiku. Must confess - I didn't write them - they were sent to me and I saved them!
Your file was so big.
It might be very useful.
But now it is gone.
-------------------------------------------
The Website you seek
Cannot be located, but
Countless more exist.
-------------------------------------------
Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent, and reboot.
Order shall return.
--------------------------------------------
Program aborting:
Close all that you have worked on.
You ask far too much.
--------------------------------------------
Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.
-------------------------------------------
Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
Windows is like that.
--------------------------------------------
First snow, then silence.
This thousand-dollar screen dies
So beautifully.
---------------------------------------------
The Tao that is seen
Is not the true Tao-until
You bring fresh toner.
----------------------------------------------
Three things are certain:
Death, taxes and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.
----------------------------------------------
You step in the stream,
But the water has moved on.
This page is not here.
-----------------------------------------------
Serious error.
All shortcuts have disappeared.
Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
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Comment number 62.
At 4th Jun 2010, Steele Hawker wrote:Why do I never read the small print before trying unsuccessfully to get a can of Coke out of a vending-machine?
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Comment number 63.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:Welcome to the machines - now pleasse leave quietly?
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Comment number 64.
At 4th Jun 2010, Steele Hawker wrote:Whats does The Times web-site do if you don't pay up?
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Comment number 65.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:Barred and chain oil?
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Comment number 66.
At 4th Jun 2010, Steele Hawker wrote:How does "Made in Birmingham" translate into Japanese?
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Comment number 67.
At 4th Jun 2010, Raven Clare wrote:What was the premise of columnist Paul Jennings' Resistentialist movement, of which the motto was "Les Choses sont Contre Nous"?
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Comment number 68.
At 4th Jun 2010, ARoseByAnyOther wrote:German 'help' with automotive electrical design?
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Comment number 69.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:If you take the battery out of the calculator
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Comment number 70.
At 4th Jun 2010, ARoseByAnyOther wrote:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
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Comment number 71.
At 4th Jun 2010, Raven Clare wrote:Our dear Becky Snow
Has stolen someone's haiku
Now what's to be done?
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Comment number 72.
At 4th Jun 2010, ARoseByAnyOther wrote:I changed the filter on the vacuum three years ago, why?
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Comment number 73.
At 4th Jun 2010, Raven Clare wrote:Arthur Scargill's First Law of Robotics?
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Comment number 74.
At 4th Jun 2010, MightyGiddyUpGal wrote:Was it gas or kerosene in that red container?
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Comment number 75.
At 4th Jun 2010, Raven Clare wrote:In the event of electrical failure, what?
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Comment number 76.
At 4th Jun 2010, MightyGiddyUpGal wrote:A spoonful of sugar helps the petrol bring it down?
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Comment number 77.
At 4th Jun 2010, Rob Falconer wrote:Science friction?
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Comment number 78.
At 4th Jun 2010, LaurenceLane wrote:What effect would herald the end of civilization for users of Blackberrys, iPhones, iPods and iPads?
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Comment number 79.
At 4th Jun 2010, MightyGiddyUpGal wrote:And the dishwasher ran away with the spoon?
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Comment number 80.
At 4th Jun 2010, MightyGiddyUpGal wrote:Stampeding dogs and power strips, oh my?
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Comment number 81.
At 4th Jun 2010, MorningGlories wrote:It's a feature?
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Comment number 82.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:If you put petrol in a diesel engine.
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Comment number 83.
At 4th Jun 2010, MorningGlories wrote:When power management leads to anger management?
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Comment number 84.
At 4th Jun 2010, Yashi wrote:After 25 years of looking, what will happen if you still can not find the 'any' key?
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Comment number 85.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:If you see the pilot parachuting from the plane
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Comment number 86.
At 4th Jun 2010, MorningGlories wrote:What happens my electric bills don't pay themselves?
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Comment number 87.
At 4th Jun 2010, BeckySnow wrote:What automated message follows ‘Unidentified item in the bagging area’ and ‘approval needed’ at the self service tills in Tesco causing people to hurl food across the store?
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Comment number 88.
At 4th Jun 2010, MorningGlories wrote:What happens if my electric bills don't pay themselves?
(correction)
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Comment number 89.
At 4th Jun 2010, MorningGlories wrote:A self demeaning oven?
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Comment number 90.
At 4th Jun 2010, Chris Lenton wrote:To deal with the state pensions crisis the government has financed new developments in geriatric medicine where machines can be implanted to keep you alive; there is however one slight flaw because of the embedded sell by dates in the machines.
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Comment number 91.
At 4th Jun 2010, an2597 wrote:Why have all these brand new life support machines been scrapped?
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Comment number 92.
At 4th Jun 2010, Gray Gable wrote:What’s the worst excuse for not mowing the lawn?
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Comment number 93.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:Who put the stop in the bop shoo bop?
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Comment number 94.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:When calculating the wifes monthly spending
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Comment number 95.
At 4th Jun 2010, LaurenceLane wrote:What happens when you submit answers using the "Send us a letter" form on the right?
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Comment number 96.
At 4th Jun 2010, Mandi1 wrote:What happens when you play the fruit machines for too long?
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Comment number 97.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:What have solar and wind ever done for us?
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Comment number 98.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:What have solar and wind power ever done for us?
(correction)
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Comment number 99.
At 4th Jun 2010, Tremorman wrote:When you rage against it
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Comment number 100.
At 4th Jun 2010, Candace9839 wrote:The elastic band snapped again?
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