Bend it like Spider-Man
QUESTION Was the Doritos sponsorship of Wolverhampton Wanderers the silliest endorsement in football?
THE irony of Wolves shirt sponsorship by Doritos, an American brand of spicy tortilla crisps, was that it came on board in 2002, the season the team reached the Premier League, having spent 19 years in the lower leagues.
For the previous 12 years, their sponsor was Goodyear, a company with strong links to the city for more than 100 years.
Stevenage Town were sponsored by Burger King, Crewe Alexandra by Mornflake breakfast cereal and Fulham by Pizza Hut. Plymouth Argyle, in Devon, are sponsored by Ginsters, which makes Cornish pasties.
In the 2003-04 season, Spanish club Atletico Madrid had one of the strangest shirt deals with Columbia Pictures, which saw them changing their strip every time a new film came out. Shirts included the logos for Hellboy, Spanglish, Hitch, Big Fish and Resident Evil. Their Spider-Man away kit looked ridiculous.
When West Ham were sponsored by sportswear firm Pony, it caused much amusement with the fans because the phrase pony and trap is cockney rhyming slang for going to the loo. The winner of the oddest endorsement must be the Greek amateur side Voukefalas Club’s 2012 pink strips supplied by local brothels Soula’s House of History and Villa Erotica.
Robert Cowley, Aldeburgh, Suffolk.
QUESTION Why do some stainless steel spoons become dark with age?
STAINLESS steel contains at least 11% chromium and more than 50% iron. Chromium is tarnish-resistant due to a passive layer of oxide, nanometres thick, which prevents further oxidation.
However, darkening can be caused by further oxidation forming metal oxides of chrome and iron. Chromium oxide is dark green, while carbon, which is found in all steels, is black.
Electropolishing in a phosphoric acid solution produces a shine, but leaves a chrome-rich surface.
Abrasive cleaning causes scratches and removes the passive film, brightening the steel in the short term, but worsening the appearance of it over a longer period. The environment has an effect on the appearance of stainless steel too. Water causes tarnish and salt is corrosive to many metals.
Dishwashers are prone to darkening cutlery because of the heat, chemicals and chloride in the water softener salt getting through to the rinse water. Contact with other metals can cause a battery effect, whereby the stainless steel becomes the anode and corrosion occurs.
Not all stainless steels are created equal. The higher the proportion of expensive ingredients used, the more tarnish-resistant is the product. The usual type, known as Austenitic after a Victorian metallurgist, contains nickel: 18/8 grade has 18% chromium and 8% nickel.
Special alloys, where there is less than 50% iron, are more corrosionresistant and are used in dental crowns. Avoiding abrasive cleaners and chloride chemicals such as bleach are recommended. Instead, clean your cutlery with vinegar or more gentle proprietary cleaners. Deliberate chemical blackening of stainless steel is sometimes done for decorative purposes.
Phil Alexander,
Farnborough, Hampshire.
QUESTION What was the highest losing score in a county cricket game?
ESSEX played Glamorgan at Chelmsford in 2004. In their first innings, they scored 642 runs, with centuries from Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower (119) and two former England Test cricketers, Ronnie Irani (164) and James Foster (188).
Glamorgan made a spirited reply, making 587. Former England players Matthew Maynard (136) and Robert Croft (125) made centuries, the latter atoning for his marathon spell with the ball in Essex’s innings when he took just three for 203 in 58 overs.
No10 batsman David Harrison scored a career best 88. Essex struggled in their second knock, making just 165 with no batsman passing 50. This time Croft took four for 52 and Australian Mick Lewis four for 39. Glamorgan then needed 221 in a minimum of 69 overs. They ended up with a winning total of 223 for six, with 22 balls remaining. David Hemp was top scorer with 83 not out. The previous record was set by Northampton, who scored 632 in a loss to Essex in 2002.
Tim Mickleburgh,
Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
THE highest losing score in a Test match came in 2017, breaking a 123-year-old record. Bangladesh scored a seemingly unassailable 595 for eight in Wellington before New Zealand replied with 539 all out. In their second innings, Bangladesh were skittled out for 160 and New Zealand scored the 217 they needed to win.
The previous record was set in a timeless Test of 1894 at Sydney. Australia scored 586 in the first innings; England replied with 325 and were asked to follow on. They put up a total of 437 before Australia were bowled out for 166.
Australia were the victims again in 2003. In Adelaide, they lost to India by four wickets despite posting a first innings total of 556. Ricky Ponting’s 242 was the highest individual score in a Test defeat.
Few England fans can forget the 2nd Adelaide Test of the 2006 Ashes series. Having lost the first
Test at Brisbane, England replied with a first innings total of 551 declared, with Paul Collingwood scoring a double century accompanied by Kevin Pietersen’s cavalier 158. Australia scored 513 and whittled England out for just 129, bamboozled by Shane Warne, who took four for 49. England lost by six wickets and never recovered, suffering a 5-0 whitewash.
D. L. Stuart, Durham.
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