Clancy Tucker's Blog, page 154

25 April 2018 - THE MAGNIFICENT FLAMINGO

THE MAGNIFICENT FLAMINGO
G'day folks,
Welcome to some  information about this beautiful bird.

The flamingo is a large colourful birdfound both in South America and Africa. The flamingo is also found in the warmer areas of southern Europeand western Asia.



The flamingo stays in flocks of up to around 200 birdsand feeds on fishin stiller rivers and lakes. The flamingo usually gets to about 30 years old although it is not uncommon for some flamingos to get to 50 years old.



Most speciesof flamingo are a pinky/orange colour, some however can be white, black or even blue. The colourof the flamingo comes from the flamingo eating a typeof algae that then turns the flamingo into the bright pink birdthat we are so familiar with.



The flamingo is often seen on the banks of the lake standing on one leg. The flamingo is actually sleeping when it is on one leg but the strange thing is, that only half of the flamingo is actually asleep - the half that contains the leg still standing remains active. The flamingo then swaps over so that the remaining side can get some rest and the side that was sleeping becomes active again.



 There are six different speciesof flamingo found around the world. The different flamingo speciesare the greater flamingo which is the most widespread speciesof flamingo found in Africa, Southern Europeand Southern Asia. The lesser flamingo is the most numerous speciesof flamingo and is found in Africaand Northern India. The Chilean flamingo is a large speciesof flamingo that is found in South America. The James's flamingo is a small and delicate speciesof flamingo that is found in the Andes mountainsin Peru, Chile, Boliviaand Argentina. The Andean flamingo is closely related to the James's flamingo and is also found in the Andes mountainsin Peru, Chile, Boliviaand Argentina. The American flamingo is a large speciesof flamingo that is found in the Caribbean islandsand the Galapagos islands.




Flamingos use their large, oddly shaped beaks to filter shrimpout of the water. The flamingo uses it's strangely shaped upside-down beak to separate mud and food in the water. The mouth of the flamingo is covered in little hairs called lamellae which assist in the filtering of water and the flamingo also has a rough tongue which the flamingo also uses to help it to filter food out of the water.




Although flamingos only nest once a year, flamingo colonies are known to breed at any time of the year. A flamingo reaches sexual maturity (which means the flamingo is able to breed) when the flamingo is between 3 and 6 years old. Flamingos build their nests out of mud, stones and feathers and do so about 6 weeks before they lay their eggs. Flamingos tend to lay just one egg that hatches after a 30 day incubation period. Both the mother flamingo and the father flamingo are known to help to raise the flamingo chick.




Flamingos have relatively few predatorsin the wild but this is dependent on the area in which the flamingo inhabits. Humanhunters, wild dogsand crocodilesare the main predatorsof the flamingo, along with eaglesthat preyupon the flamingo eggs and vulnerableflamingo chicks.
 


Clancy's comment: Wow. I'd love to be up close and personal with these birds, with a camera in my hands.


Today, is Anzac Day in Australia and, as a member of my local branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia (R.S.L), I will be attending the dawn service and March, and taking official photographs.  Our local Anzac Day services are well-attended by all age groups. Let us not forget those who have fallen, and those who are currently serving Australia.




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24 April 2018 - GREAT QUOTES WORTH READING

 GREAT QUOTES WORTH READING 
G'day folks,
Well, time to check out some inspiring and humorous quotes.





































Clancy's comment: Fired up for the day? Good. Now, get on with it. I'm off on my broomstick.
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23 April 2018 - INDIAN COAL FIELD HAS BEEN BURNING CONTINUOUSLY FOR OVER 100 YEARS

INDIAN COAL FIELD HAS BEEN BURNING  CONTINUOUSLYFOR OVER 100 YEARS
G'day folks,

One of India’s largest coal reserves, the Jharia coalfield, situated in the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, is the site of one of the longest-burning fires in the world. The area has been burning continuously for over 100 years.

Mining in the Jharia coalfields, which cover over 100 square miles, began in the late 1800s, under British rule. The first detected fire broke out in 1916, but by the 1980s over 70 blazes had sprouted up, and none of them could be contained, let alone extinguished. As they were often deep underground, they were left to smolder in the hope that they would eventually burn out on their own. Unfortunately, a new mining operation in 1973 smothered that hope.

That year, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India, started a large-scale opencast mining operation as a rapid and more cost-effective method of extraction. Local activist Ashok Agarwal explained to Al Jazeera that this was when the fires took hold, with catastrophic consequences.




“The idea was they’ll get quick coal and they’ll get cheap coal … but there was underground mining already done over here. So there were a lot of galleries – galleries are tunnels which these people make and they extract coal. So the ground of the galleries is always full of small pieces of coal, and that catches fire. When you went in for open-cast mining where already underground mining has been done, you opened up the face of the galleries and then there was free flow of air inside and now you’ve got a massive fire.”

The flow of oxygen into the mining shafts fed the smoldering embers until they became massive flames, some recorded at 60 feet high. Many of the fire started as spontaneous combustion caused by the oxidization of minerals in the exposed coal, but they grew exponentially worse when surface mining operations exposed the embers to oxygen.

  Experts estimate that over 37 million tons of coal, worth billions of dollars, have been lost to the uncontrolled blazes, with a further 1.4 billion metric tons made inaccessible because of the fires. Despite this, and the woeful carbon emissions caused by the flames, India’s government reportedly intends to increase production in the area. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allegedly made moves toward putting out the fires, but only in the hope of expanding coal production.




Meanwhile, life for the residents of Bhulan Bararee, a nearby village, resembles that of a hellscape. “The ground is so hot at places, that walking even in shoes is near impossible. Almost everyone here is ill. Authorities ask the villagers to leave their homes and go. But most people fear loss of livelihood, and hence continue to stay,” Mohammad Nasim Ansari, a resident, told YourStory.

The burning coal releases toxic gasses and particles into the air, making it a hazard to breathe. The underground fires have also caused massive sinkholes that have claimed many lives over the years.

 “Just imagine the emissions that are being produced by these fires,” Glenn Stracher, a professor emeritus of geology and physics at East Georgia State College, said to CNBC. “I have collected gas samples from different fires, and there are usually 40 to 50 hydrocarbon compounds, and many of them are toxic or carcinogenic. So this stuff is bad, really bad. There are for sure toxins or poisons in these fires, and they certainly exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards”

Unfortunately, the Jharia coal fire is only one of the thousands burning worldwide on every continent other than Antarctica. It is a costly and dangerous phenomenon affecting a fuel source that brought about the rapid economic development of the western world.

 The emissions caused by these fires are almost impossible to calculate as the flames act erratically, sometimes calming down, sometimes suddenly intensifying. They can also be difficult to contain or extinguish, although some methods, such as pouring sand on the flames or injecting inert gas into the tunnels, can smother parts of the fires. These operations, however, are costly and have had little effect. Experts are skeptical that the fires can ever be fully extinguished as long as they have fuel to burn.


  
Clancy's comment: Now I know why Australia exports coal to India.
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22 April 2018 - Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut (1823-1886)

Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut(1823-1886)
G'day folks,
Mary Boykin Chesnut, was a South Carolina author noted for a book published as her Civil War diary, a "vivid picture of a society in the throes of its life-and-death struggle".




Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, (1823-1886) was the author of A Diary from Dixie, an insightful view of Southern life and leadership during the American Civil War. In 1840 she married James Chesnut, Jr., who later served as a U.S. senator from South Carolina until he resigned to take an important role in the secession movement and the Confederacy.



Mary Miller was the daughter of a prominent South Carolina politician and grew up in an atmosphere of public service. She attended private schools in Camden and Charleston. Her husband was a staff officer, an aide to General P.G.T. Beauregard, and commanding general of the South Carolina reserves.


Chesnut accompanied him on his military missions during the Civil War and began recording her views and observations on February 15, 1861, and closed her diary on August 2, 1865. After the war she reworked her manuscript many times in anticipation of publication. But A Diary from Dixie was not published until 1905, long after her death. Although not a day-by-day account, A Diary is regarded highly by historians for its perceptive views of Confederate military and political leaders and for its insight into Southern society during the Civil War. 

An annotated edition with a biographical essay, Mary Chesnut’s Civil War, ed. by C. Vann Woodward (1981), was awarded the 1982 Pulitzer Prize in U.S. history.

 
Clancy's comment: Go, Mary!
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21 April 2018 - DEATH DIVING IN NORWAY

 DEATH DIVING IN NORWAY
G'day folks,


 When jumping off a diving board, a belly flop is not the outcome most people are looking for, but for those competing in the crazy Norwegian sport of Dødsing, hitting the water belly first is a risk that comes with the territory.

Dødsing, or “Death Diving”, is a Norwegian extreme sport that has daredevils jumping from a 10-meter-high board with their arms and legs spread out in an x-formation. The goal is to keep the pose for as long as possible and curl your body slightly right before hitting the water to prevent injuries. At the World Dødsing Championship, a wacky competition held every summer since 2008, the diver who manages to remain flat the longest during their jump is pronounced the winner.
But there are plenty of fearless dødsing divers at the world championship, so in order to determine the winner, judges also take into account other factors, such as the speed, height and power of the jump, the originality of the jumping style and the spray produced when hitting the water.
The painful-looking sport is believed to have been invented during the 1960’s, at the famous Frognerbadet pool complex in Oslo, probably by a bunch of kids trying to show off in front of their friends. The first ever dødsing championship was a small affair, with just six divers and about a dozen spectators, but after the founding of Det internasjonale dødseforbundet (The International Dødsing Association) in 2011, its popularity grew exponentially. These days, the World Dødsing Championship held at Frognerbadet is a big event, featuring close to 100 divers and thousands of spectators.
It’s no surprise that the popularity of has begun spreading across Europe in recent years. It is, after all, a fun sport to watch, as confirmed by the thousands of spectators gathering every year to see who can make the biggest splash. It’s fun for the divers as well, although they admit that coming out of the pool with a few bruises is to be expected, as well.

Clancy's comment: I might try it. Are you ready? Here I go ...
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20 April 2018 - PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
G'day folks,
He's on the news every single day, and like him or hate him, he's certainly an interesting character.
New York City real estate developer and reality TV star Donald Trump (1946- ) was elected America’s 45th president in November 2016. The billionaire businessman ran as a Republican and scored an upset victory over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump began his career working for his father’s real estate development firm, taking over its leadership in the 1970s. In the ensuing decades, he acquired and built hotels, office towers, casinos and golf courses and also appeared on 14 seasons of “The Apprentice.” He is the first person ever elected to the U.S. presidency without any previous government or military experience.
Early Life and Education 
Donald John Trump, the son of Fred, a real estate developer, and his wife, Mary, a homemaker and Scottish immigrant, was born on June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York. The second youngest of five children, he attended private school in Queens before enrolling in the New York Military Academy for eighth grade through high school. Afterward, Trump studied for two years at New York City’s Fordham University then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1968. During the Vietnam War, he received four student deferments and one medical deferment and wasn’t drafted for military service.


 Business Career  After college, Trump joined his father’s company, which developed apartments for the middle-class in New York City’s outer boroughs. He became president of the firm in 1974 and went on to make a name for himself in the Manhattan real estate world with the construction of such high-profile projects as the Grand Hyatt New York hotel, which opened in 1980, and Trump Tower, a luxury high-rise that opened in 1983. Also in the 1980s, Trump opened hotel-casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey; acquired Manhattan’s storied Plaza Hotel; and bought the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, which he renovated and turned into a private club. Among other ventures, he briefly owned an airline and a professional football team in the short-lived United States Football League. In 1987, “The Art of the Deal,” Trump’s memoir and business-advice book, was published and became a best-seller. In 1989, his net worth was $1.5 billion, according to Forbes, and he made his first appearance on the cover of Time magazine. 
 However, in the early 1990s, following an economic downturn and slump in the real estate market, Trump was deeply in debt and several of his casinos filed for bankruptcy. In 1995, he reported a nearly $1 billion loss on his taxes. Trump eventually made a financial comeback, in part with a business model that involved licensing his name for a wide variety of ventures ranging from condominiums to steaks and neckties. He continued to acquire and develop real estate properties, and in 2016, when he became the first billionaire elected to the White House, his empire included office buildings, hotels and golf courses around the world.



Entertainment Career 
In 2004, Trump started hosting a reality TV show, “The Apprentice,” in which contestants vied for a management job at one of his companies. The show featured Trump’s catchphrase “You’re fired” and drew big ratings. The business mogul eventually raked in $1 million per episode and became a household name. He hosted 14 combined seasons of “The Apprentice” and a spinoff show, “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
In addition to starring on “The Apprentice” and making cameo appearances in other TV shows and movies, Trump owned several beauty pageants from 1996 to 2015, including Miss Universe and Miss USA. In 1999, he founded a modeling agency that continues to operate.
 Family  In 1977, Trump married Czech model Ivana Zelnickova, with whom he went on to have three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. The pair divorced in 1992 and the following year Trump wed actress Marla Maples, with whom he has a daughter, Tiffany. After Trump’s second marriage ended in 1999, he tied the knot with Slovenian model Melania Knauss in 2005. The couple’s son, Barron, was born in 2006.


 2016 Presidential Campaign  Before winning the U.S. presidency, Trump never held any elected or appointed government office. He had considered a presidential bid on at least several earlier occasions prior to the 2016 race but ultimately opted not to run. In 2011, Trump began questioning in TV interviews whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States. In the following years, he harnessed rumors about Obama’s birthplace to help grow his audience on social media and gain notice in the world of conservative politics. (The White House released the Hawaiian-born president’s short-form birth certificate in 2008 and his long-form birth certificate in 2011.) 



 In June 2015, the real estate developer announced his presidential candidacy in a speech at Trump Tower. His ran his campaign on a pledge to “Make America Great Again,” the slogan emblazoned on the baseball hats he often wore at his public rallies, and spoke out against political correctness, illegal immigration and government lobbyists, while promising to cut taxes, renegotiate trade deals and create millions of jobs for American workers. His brash, unapologetic style and sometimes-controversial comments garnered widespread media coverage. In May 2016, he cinched the Republican nomination, beating out a field of 16 other candidates, including Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich. 

In the general election, Trump ran against Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential candidate from a major political party. The race was divisive, in part due to a number of inflammatory remarks and tweets made by Trump about minorities and other groups. While some members of the Republican establishment distanced themselves from the candidate, Trump’s supporters admired his outspokenness and business success, along with the fact that he wasn’t a politician. 




 As the election neared, almost all national polls predicted a victory for the Democratic nominee. However, on November 8, 2016, in what was viewed by many people as a stunning upset, Trump and his vice-presidential running mate, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana, defeated Clinton and her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Trump won reliably red states as well as important swing states including Florida and Ohio, and racked up 306 electoral votes to his rival’s 232 votes. Clinton won the popular vote.


Clancy's comment: Mm ...
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19 April 2018 - THE FRILLED LIZARD

THE FRILLED LIZARD
G'day folks,
Welcome to the life of a frilled lizard, a large speciesof lizardnatively found in the bush of Australiaand its surrounding islands. The frilled lizardis known by a number of names including the frill-necked lizardand the frilled dragon.
The frilled lizardis an arboreal animalmeaning that it spends the majority of its life in the trees. Frilled lizardscan be found in humid climates such as tropical jungles and forests, across Australiaand Papua New Guinea.



The frilled lizardis named after the large fold of skin that usually lies folded up against the frilled lizard'shead and neck. When the frilled lizardfeels threatened, the fold of skin fans out around the frilled lizard'shead in orderto make the frilled lizardappear larger and more intimidating than it is.



 The frilled lizardis fairly large speciesof lizardthat can grow to nearly a meter in length. The long tail and sharp claws of the frilled lizardhelp the frilled lizardwhen it is climbing around in the trees.




Like many other speciesof lizard, the frilled lizardis an omnivorous animaland the frilled lizardwill therefore eat almost anything it can find. Despite this though, the frilled lizardwill eat meat whenever possible as it hunts a variety of insects, spiders, rodents and small reptiles.




Due to its relatively large size, the frilled lizardhas only a handful of predatorswithin its natural environment. Large snakesare the most common predatorsof the frilled lizardalong with owls, dingos, foxes and birdsof preythat tend to hunt the smaller and young frilled lizardindividuals.




Frilled lizardsmate at the beginning of the wet season, and male frilled lizardsare often slighter larger than the female frilled lizards. The female frilled lizardlays up to 25 eggs in a burrow in the ground, before burying them. The frilled lizardbabies tend to hatch within a few months.



Clancy's comment: I've seen a few and they certainly look prehistoric. They also move very quickly.
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18 April 2018 - FRENCHMAN RIDES FROM PARIS TO MOSCOW ON STATIONARY BIKE

FRENCHMAN RIDES FROM PARIS TO MOSCOW ON STATIONARY BIKE
G'day folks,
Well, here is a man who set out to break a record by the seat of his pants.
53-year-old Pascal Pich, a legendary ultra-athlete with several endurance records to his name, is set to complete the longest, and at the same time shortest, race of his career – over 3,000 kilometers (the distance between Paris and Moscow) pedaled on a stationary bicycle.

“You have to be a little crazy to say ‘I will pedal for 6 days without moving'”, Pascal Pich says about his unusual challenge. But being a little crazy is exactly how he managed to become one of the world’s most acclaimed extreme athletes and set 10 endurance world records. So yes, cycling around 600 kilometers a day on a stationary bike with only 2-3 hours of sleep may sound crazy for anyone else, but not for him.




Pascal Pich already holds the world record for the longest distance pedaled on a stationary bike in 6 days, after completing a 2878-km journey last year. So why take on a challenge to beat his own record so soon? Well, it started last month, when the French ultra-athlete learned that a Canadian had beaten two of his 10 records, the longest distance traveled on a stationary bicycle in 70 hours and in 128 hours. Pascal decided he had to take back what was his, and set a new record for for the longest distance pedaled in 6 days while he’s at it.

To prepare for this grueling challenge, the Frenchman has been pedaling 3 to 6 hours a day on a regular bicycle, although the conditions on a stationary bicycle are very different. “You can say that physically it’s easier, because there is no wind or uneven terrain, but psychologically it’s harder,” Pich told Ouest France

 “You have to shut off your brain at the beginning, and turn it on again at the end,” he added in an interview with AFP. “If you start thinking, you go straight into the wall, because they are rarely positive thoughts.”


Pascal Pich started his 6-day challenge on May 2, and is scheduled to finish it today, May 8. His official goal was to cover 600 km a day, by pedaling 20 hours, while getting only 2-3 hours of sleep and taking short breaks to visit the bathroom, change his sweaty clothes and eat some fruit and starchy snacks. He admits that he set the bar pretty high for himself, and adds that he would be happy if in the end he will have traveled around 3,300 kilometers.

The renowned ultra-athlete became in love with sports early on in his life. At age 15, he became the youngest judo black belt in France, and at 26, soon after discovering triathlons, he set his first world record for 10 hours of swimming, 10 hours of cycling and 10 hours of running. He went on to become the world champion of the Deca-Ironman and set a total of 10 endurance world record. It sounds like he has nothing left to prove to anybody, but Pich says this challenge is for him.


“It proves to me that at 53-years-old I can still compete at a high level,” he said. “As long as I can perform, I’m alive, and I still haven’t found the limits of my body.”
      
Clancy's comment: Good on him. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

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17 April 2018 - LOST WORDS

LOST WORDS
G'day folks,
Here are some words that seem to have disappeared from use.

acrasial adj 1851 -1851 ill-regulated; ill-tempered The acrasial judge was known for her rants against younger lawyers. 
addecimate v 1612 -1755 to tithe They addecimated regularly but were not otherwise known for their charity. 
adimpleate v 1657 -1657 to fill up The new technique adimpleates the cans with milk through injection. 
adnascentia npl 1706 -1731 root-like branches that sprout into the earth from a plant's stem Every winter, the adnascentia would shift around, destroying the lawn's even texture. 
aeipathy n 1847 -1853 continued passion; an unyielding disease Her aeipathy for stamp collecting bordered at times on the pathological. 
affictitious adj 1656 -1656 feigned; counterfeit The forger was caught despite his masterfully-crafted affictitious signatures. 
affuage n 1753 -1847 right to cut wood in a forest for family fire The family's right of affuage ensured they would have enough wood for winter. 
agonarch n 1656 -1656 judge of a contest or activity Our competition will require six agonarchs to ensure fairness. 


agonyclite n 1710 -1710 member of a heretical sect that stood rather than kneeled while praying Agonyclites must have had hardy feet to endure their services. 
airgonaut n 1784 -1784 one who journeys through the air Balloonists, skydivers and other airgonauts are all a little mad, if you ask me. 
alabandical adj 1656 -1775 barbarous; stupefied from drink His behaviour after the party was positively alabandical. 
albedineity n 1652 -1652 whiteness The monotonous albedineity of the snow-covered field was blinding. 
alogotrophy n 1753 -1853 excessive nutrition of part of body resulting in deformity Was he born with that huge head, or is it the result of alogotrophy? 
amandation n 1656 -1755 act of sending away or dismissing His rude amandation of his guests earned him a reputation for curtness. 
amarulence n 1731 -1755 bitterness; spite After losing her job to a less qualified man, she was full of amarulence. 
amorevolous adj 1670 -1670 affectionate; loving Our father, though amorevolous, could be a strict taskmaster at times. 
antipelargy n 1656 -1731 reciprocal or mutual kindness; love and care of children for their parents Having never received any antipelargy, they wrote their daughter out of the will. 
apanthropinization n 1880 -1880 withdrawal from human concerns or the human world His life as a hermit in the woods was characterized by apanthropinization. 
aporrhoea n 1646 -1880 a bodily emanation; an effluvium The evening's revelries were followed by an unfortunate episode of aporrhoea. 
aquabib n 1731 -1883 water-drinker I was never much of an aquabib, and always preferred harder libations. 
archigrapher n 1656 -1656 principal or head secretary or clerk The archigrapher efficiently designated transcription duties to her underlings. 
archiloquy n 1656- 1656 first part of a speech We stopped paying attention during his talk due to his monotonous archiloquy. 



aretaloger n 1623 -1656 braggart; one who boasts about his own accomplishments While he seemed nice at first, he turned out to be a loudmouthed aretaloger. 
artigrapher n 1753 -1753 writer or composer of a grammar; a grammarian Today's prescriptivists are no better than the artigraphers of the Renaissance. 
ascoliasm n 1706 -1753 boys' game of beating each other with gloves or leather while hopping If you think bullies are bad today, look at brutal games of the past like ascoliasm. 

Clancy's comment: Mm ... Any wonder they have disappeared? Aquabib? Wow!
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16 April 2018 - FRENCH RESTAURANT ALLOWS PATRONS TO DINE IN THE NUDE

FRENCH RESTAURANT ALLOWS PATRONS TO DINE IN THE NUDE
G'day folks,
Now, here is an opportunity for you bold people. 

At the recently inaugurated O’naturel restaurant in Paris, France, diners leave more than their coats at the door. The country’s first “naked restaurant” allows naturists to enjoy classic French fare completely nude, in a comfortable and relaxed ambiance.




O’naturel is not the first nudist restaurant in Europe. In the summer of 2016, a pop-up nudist restaurant opened in London, followed by another in Tenerife. Their success inspired twin entrepreneurs Mike and Stephane Saada to try the same concept in Paris. Although they’re not nudists themselves, the brothers spotted a lucrative opportunity in a country known as a top naturist destination. 



“People only get to be nudists in the summer,” 42-year-old Stephane said, suggesting O’naturel lets patrons enjoy nudism all year year round.
 O’naturel features minimalist decor and a menu of classic French bistro cuisine, such as lobster, foie gras and snails with parsley cream sauce, although there are vegan options as well. The three-course menu costs USD 57.50. Diners leave their clothing and mobile devices (to prevent photographing fellow customers) in a cloakroom upon arrival, and then they are given a pair of slippers to wear. 

Finally, a server seats them at one of 20 tables in the small restaurant. The chairs feature black cloth covers that are discreetly changed between seatings, and a white curtain hangs in the window to protect diners from gawkers and curious passersby.




“Our role is to put people at ease,” Stephane told AFP. “As soon as they enter the dining room, we accompany them to their table, and we reassure them that it’s not like the whole room is looking at them.”

The twin managers, who also work as servers, are both clothed according to French laws regarding workplace conditions.

The restaurant is only open for dinner, and reservations are required to discourage the wrong type of customer. “We might reject someone, or explain to them that if they’re looking to hook up, they should go somewhere else,” Stephane explained. His twin Mike added, “Nudity doesn’t have to mean sexuality.”




 With around 460 designated outdoor nudist spots, nudism is pretty popular in France, but the recently opened O’naturel restaurant is not without critics. Neighbors have pointed out that it is located next to a children’s creche, although opposing opening hours renders the point moot.

However, Yves Leclerc, the president of the French Naturist Federation, was thrilled to be able to dine in the buff. “We’re in the heart of Paris, and we’re eating naked. It’s a little surreal. It’s like when we’re on holiday, but it’s even better,” he said.

 

Clancy's comment: I'd give it a try, providing the food and company is good. What about you? Don't be shy. Let's  make a booking.

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