Hello, its Thursday, and welcome to todays Levy Letter. I hope youre having a good week, and join me for Look North tonight at half past six on BBC One for all the days news from our part of the world.
Romans A little plug here for the Wrawby Local History Group who are holding a day of free entertainment on Wrawby Playing Field on Saturday, 9th August from 10.30am 5.00pm. There will be live Roman soldiers, and living history displays of cooking, writing and weaving. The military encampment will demonstrate metal and leatherwork, and youll be able to make a Roman coin or have your name written in Roman script. There will also be military drill and catapult demonstrations in the display arena at 11am, 2pm & 4pm. Children will get a chance to try on Roman helmets, make a clay pot, design a mosaic, fire a mini catapult and more. If you want more information you can email the group at [EMAIL PROTECTED] It sounds like theres lots to do, and if you go along, I hope you have a good day. Names Are you happy with your name? I think most people just accept what they were called by their parents, and dont really give it much thought, but how would you feel if you were called something unusual like Violence, Yeah Detroit, Fat Boy, or even Sex Fruit? These are some of the names recorded by officials as having been given to children in New Zealand. Now some of these unusual, and perhaps undesirable names have been refused by registrars, while some have been allowed. I wonder if you can guess which. Its all part of a story in the news about a nine year old girl in New Zealand who was given permission by a court to change her birth name. You might not believe it, but she was originally named Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii. A judge ruled that the name caused the girl embarrassment and could expose her to teasing. The poor girl was so embarrassed that she refused to tell classmates her real name, which is understandable I think. Names that have been allowed in the country include Violence, Number 16 Bus Shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, and a pair of twins called Benson and Hedges. Some of the names that were refused include Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi, Keenan Got Lucy, Sex Fruit, Fat Boy, and Cinderella Beauty Blossom. Parents were also denied naming their twins Fish and Chips. I wonder how they decide which ones to allow and which ones not to, because I imagine all of those could cause a bit of embarrassment in school. Why could you call a child Number 16 Bus Shelter? So if youve ever wished you could be called something else, spare a thought for those stuck with truly bizarre, and mind boggling names. 99p Whats the difference between 99p and £1? Well apart from the obvious one penny, a 99p price is much more effective at getting us to part with our cash. According to a French study, lowering the price of a pizza from 8.00 euros to 7.99 euros increased sales by 15%. There are a number of theories as to why this simple trick is so effective, and different stories of its origin. One theory is that it became popular as a way to reduce employee theft on tills because a .99 ending meant the till had to be opened for change, and the bill couldnt be pocketed as easily. Its also thought to appeal to our snap decision making urges, and to give the impression of a discount or saving, even if it is a miniscule one. Studies also claim we put greater emphasis on the left hand number of a price, so £10.00 seems a lot more than £9.99. Its supposed to be similar to the way we place greater emphasis on a 40th birthday compared to a 39th. Its fascinating, but its strange that we continue to fall for such a simple trick. Of course it also means we end up with pocketfuls of loose change. Its estimated that in 2005, Britons discarded or stashed away more than £133 million in unwanted coppers. Maybe we should start keeping all the change we save from buying something with a 99p ending. Well thats it from me for today. I hope you enjoy the rest of your afternoon, and join me tonight at half past six on BBC One. If you have anything you think we should know about, get in touch and let us know all about it at [EMAIL PROTECTED] And as always Im on the look out for interesting pictures we can show before the weather, so if youve taken a good one, email it in, or send a hard copy to our Look North newsroom in Hull. Theres still time to get seated tickets for the Last Choir Standing event in Hull on Saturday 9th of August. You need to register for the tickets on the website bbc.co.uk/lastchoirstanding or by telephone on 03700 100 150. The deadline for registering for tickets is this Sunday 27th. If you come along, Ill see you there. Bye for now Peter Your email address will be held by the BBC and kept confidential, and will only be used in relation to this newsletter. 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