7 October: P Day

A few years ago I discovered a group online calling themselves The Immortal Society, who'd invented a whole lot of new holidays and daily observances. They seem to have vanished now, at least as far as Google is concerned, but their celebration for today was P Day. So 10 things you might not know about the letter P.

1. P Day in terms of military designations isn't a fixed date, but the date at which the production of a consumable product is expected to equal the rate of demand by the armed forces.
2. The letter P is related to the Greek letter Pi.
3. A letter P inside a circle is the sound recording copyright symbol.
4. In the NATO phonetic alphabet P is represented by the word "Papa" and in Morse Code it is ".--.".
5. P is often used to represent pence or pennies, the smallest denomination of currency in the UK (eg 50p).
6. There is an expression in English - "Mind your Ps and Qs" which means watch what you say and be on your best behaviour. Explanations for the origin of this abound, including it being about being careful not to mix up lower case p with a lower case q when writing or typesetting, because they are so similar and close together in the alphabet. It might have been a warning to staff in pubs to watch out for confusion when recording sales of pints and quarts, or it may simply be to remember to say "please" Ps - and "Thank you" Qs.
7. :P is an emoticon representing someone poking their tongue out.
8. P is the chemical symbol for phosphorous.
9. If you're looking for somewhere to leave your car, you need to find a sign with a P on it which means parking spaces or a car park. Also in motoring, in EU registration plates, P represents Portugal.
10. In the 1990s there was an American alternative rock band which was called P, which was also the title of the one album they recorded. One of the guitarists was the actor Johnny Depp.

NEW!

Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

Themes: 

Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.

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