Just a few. 

• Brainteaser:  A solution to the Math Corner brainteaser in my September Diary is here.   

• Mongolia.  A follower of Mongolia’s English-language news service emailed in with this:

Mr. Derbyshire,

In case you missed it, the opening ceremony for the new Chinngis Khaan Museum was held today in Ulaanbataar.  More evidence of the complete absence of ethnic guilt among the Mongols! 

News report in English from MNB here. 

Fascinating. Thank you, Sir. ”Chinngis Khaan” there is the bloke whose name we write as ”Genghis Khan.” The voiceover on that report tells us that this year marks his 860th birthday. And yes, the Mongolians adore him, mass murder and rampant imperialism notwithstanding.

Perhaps, in the missionary spirit, we should sent a party of Wokesters over there to teach the Mongolians to feel guilty about their ancestors. 

• My moving story.  Many emails offering helpful advice on my furniture-moving problems.   Thanks to all. I’ll have more to say about this in my Diary at the end of the month.

One friend directed my attention to a mathematical approach at the Numberphile channel on YouTube. 

Nifty math, but of limited practical application.

• The Sharpe novels.  Several emailers have congratulated me on having, much too late, discovered Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe novels. At mid-month I am just starting Sharpe’s Gold, the ninth of the 22 (by the chronology of the narratives).

I’m sure I’ll have more to say about these books in future Diaries. Meanwhile there are some general remarks about historical fiction in a long piece I wrote for The New Criterion some years ago.
 
• Caught in the act.  In my October 7th podcast I committed the following sentence:   

Twentieth-century comedians and other stage performers who we all knew were homosexual enjoyed great popularity even back when homosexual acts were illegal.  

A listener gleefully pointed out the double meaning.

Above Hugh Paddick & Kenneth Williams as Julian & Sandy along with Kenneth Horne

Thank you, Sir. I know what I was thinking. It is far too common to hear or read people say or write ”… when homosexuality was illegal.” That annoys me. I don’t think homosexuality ever was illegal, certainly not in Britain or the U.S.A.  What was illegal was homosexual acts… sorry: deeds.