Amusing Stories

See how the Barmakid Blade of Indian steel has been struck

By the steel of the Hashimites!

The stars of generosity are out;

The hand of benevolence is closed.

The seas of bounty have ebbed away

Now that the Barmakids are gone.

Fate has betrayed the sons of Barmak,

Did Yahya not govern the whole earth?

Yet he woke to find himself beneath it.

Source: The Golden Road Book

Idi Amin, the Ugandan Dictator who had thrown thousands of his countrymen into prison, once told his foreign ministerthat Uganda should be named "Idi". "There is a problem", the sharp Ugandan foreign minister told his boss.

"The people of Cyprus are called Cypriots; the people of Idi will be called Idiots"

Idi dropped the idea.

Source: Economist

I am reminded of an old Oxford essay question: “Was Hegel a good philosopher? Be brief”. One smug student wrote, simply, “Yes”. When the paper came back, the examiner had given it a high mark but scribbled a comment in the margin: “This was a good, brief answer. But a better, briefer answer would have been No.”

Source: Anonymous

In ancient Greece, symposium was an occasion where intelligencia met to drink wine and have intellectual conversation. Master of ceremony was responsible for mixing appropriate amount of water in wine so that things don't go out of hand.

Source: La Cite Du Vin

In ancient Egypt, wine was used to treat liver disease as a part of standard medical practice.

Source: La Cite Du Vin

“That’s not writing, that’s typing”. But Randall Jarrell did just that, opining that a book by Oscar Williams “gave the impression of having been written on a typewriter by a typewriter”.

Source: Economist

At some point, you will find someone who is obsessed with you and wants all your time. That person is your manager at work.

Source: Internet

If a diplomat say "yes", he means "maybe"

If he says "maybe", he means "no"

If he says "no", he is no diplomat

If a Lady says "no", she means "maybe"

If she says "maybe", she means "yes"

If she says "yes", she is no lady"

Source: Warren Buffett

A perfect European should drive like a Frenchman, cook like the Dutch, be as organized as the Greeks, and as humorous as a German.

Source: Economist