by Fern Shaw | Jun 19, 2017 | aquaid aberdeen, water cooler, Water Coolers
You may not be aware of this, but AquAid not only supply water coolers the length and breadth of England, but also throughout Scotland too.
There are three branches of AquAid in Scotland, these being: AquAid Edinburgh, based in Midlothian, AquAid Glasgow, based in Hamilton and AquAid Aberdeen, based in Stonehaven.
AquAid Aberdeen provides a wide range of water coolers and water related products and services to the North East of Scotland and have been in operation since 2000.
Aberdeen itself is clearly a fascinating city; having produced not one, but three Nobel Laureates (these being JJR Macleod (1923); John Boyd Orr (1949) and RLM Synge (1952)); boasts many ‘firsts’ and has an interesting history with a huge variety of fascinating and perhaps little known factoids that make any Aberdonian proud of their heritage:
*For example: “In 2012, HSBC named Aberdeen as a leading business hub and one of eight ‘super cities‘ spearheading the UK’s economy, marking it as the only city in Scotland to receive this accolade.”
Denis Law, Scotland’s joint top goal scorer, is an Aberdonian. During his footballing career Denis Law scored 30 international goals during 55 matches for Scotland. A record only equalled by Kenny Dalglish.
Aberdeen has the busiest civilian heliport in the world.
The Robert Gordon University launched the UK’s first degree course in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
Aberdeen has won the Britain in Bloom contest a record number of times.
From having the oldest maze in Scotland – Hazlehead Maze – planted in 1935; having one of the oldest newspapers in Britain -The Aberdeen Journal – first printed in 1748; through to building the fastest sailing ship ever, (the Thermopylae), and the first stern trawler being built in Aberdeen – the city has a wealth of culture and can-do spirit.
AquAid North East (as they are commonly known) in Aberdeen may not have the longevity of some of the aforementioned establishments, but they have been providing water coolers, dispensers and boilers to customers for the past sixteen years. Contact them now to assist with all your water cooler and water related product requirements.
*extracts from an article at the Aberdeen City Council
by Fern Shaw | May 5, 2017 | aquaid london, Uncategorized, water cooler
Yes, there was a
Part I – catch up already. Just in time for the weekend or to amaze your mates and/or colleagues as you gather around the
water cooler next week, we present Part II:
* London is one of only two cities above the 50th parallel with a population of more than five million. Moscow is the other.
It is thought that St. Patrick may have brought the early knowledge of whisky distilling from Ireland around the mid-5th century. The Scots call it uisque baugh in Gaelic, or ‘water of life’, and it is one of the United Kingdom’s top five exports, along with cars, computers, aircraft, and oil. Personally, I couldn’t think of a nicer export, could you?
In the 16th century, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I decreed that mutton could be served only with bitter herbs, intending to stop people from eating the sheep in order to help the wool trade. Her subjects discovered mint sauce improved the taste of the meat, and it’s been a favourite condiment for roast lamb ever since. Hmm, clearly I’m in the minority as I’m not a fan of the whole mint sauce accompanying roast lamb thing.
Until 1832, England only had two universities: Oxford and Cambridge.
The sport of football, or soccer, supposedly got its start in England when Anglo-Saxon farmworkers plowing a field unearthed the skull of a Danish warrior killed in battle a few years earlier. To show their still bitter feelings towards the Danes and to amuse themselves, they began kicking the skull among them. This early form of football was called “kicking the Dane’s head”. Seems the savagery has passed from the players to the supporters somewhat!
James Bond’s code ‘007’ was inspired by the author Ian Fleming’s bus route from Canterbury to London. Am I the only person who when thinking of James Bond – immediately starts singing, ‘Goldfingggggerrrrr’ as opposed to any of the other James Bond theme songs?
The Ghost Research Foundation has determined that with 500 recorded cases of ghostly encounters, York is the most haunted city in England and one of the most haunted in the world. Make appropriate ghostly type noises here.
Well, that’s the lot for this week’s content of trivia to amaze and astound. Keep an eye out for future inserts and as always, please feel free to add to and / or correct the trivia if you feel I have it all wrong.
*from various sources from an article at Fact Retriever
by Fern Shaw | Apr 12, 2017 | water cooler
You’ll note that I wrote ‘interesting’ and while you may be openly scoffing at the use of this adjective, I pinkie swear that these facts are not only interesting but are also perhaps lesser known facts about your drinking water.
- The weight a person loses directly after intense physical activity is weight from water, not fat.
- Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. Wherever it travels, water carries chemicals, minerals and nutrients with it.
- One of the lesser known benefits of drinking water is that it helps keep your joints strong, healthy and lubricated. Your joints need moisture in order to remain strong and flexible, so that your movements are smooth and pain free.
- Drinking too much water too quickly can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication occurs when water dilutes the sodium level in the bloodstream and causes an imbalance of water in the brain.
- Water intoxication is most likely to occur during periods of intense athletic performance.
- At birth, water accounts for approximately 80 percent of an infant’s body weight.
- Drinking water makes your muscles stronger. That’s because water carries oxygen to the cells of your body, including those of your muscles. Drinking plenty of water enables your muscles to work harder and longer before they feel tired, and this can help you build muscle.
- Water is sticky. The molecules love to stick to things, especially each other. It’s what gives it such a large surface tension. It keeps you alive: it means water can pull blood up narrow vessels in the body, often against the force of gravity.
There are quite a few facts in here that I was vaguely aware of, however, I certainly didn’t know that water is sticky! I think No. 8 now stands out for me forevermore – I love the fact that water is able to pull blood around our bodies – fascinating!
Want to get on the right track to fitness and health? Know you’re not drinking enough water every day? Speak to us at AquAid – we’d be pleased to help with all your water cooler dispenser requirements – keeping you water fit and hydrated rain or shine.
by Fern Shaw | Mar 29, 2017 | water cooler, Water Coolers
Generally, everyone enjoys a good bit of trivia and none so more than me.
People have pretty fertile imaginations though, so the facts behind some trivia can easily be distorted and the internet being as it is, fact checking trivia snippets can be a little difficult.
To astound and amaze, here’s a bit of trivia to keep you amused this week – and to keep your brain active during your working day. Try them out on colleagues at the water cooler when you beetle off to replenish your water bottle (just no Larry [or Larissa] the Lounge Lizard actions while you’re there now, see?)
John Cleese’s father’s surname was Cheese. Cleese grew up 10 miles from Cheddar and his best friend at school was called Barney Butter.
The last private resident of No 10 Downing Street was called Mr Chicken. Nobody knows anything about him other than his name. He moved out in 1732, after which King George II presented both houses to Sir Robert Walpole.
All but one of the ravens at the Tower of London died from stress during the Blitz.
In 2009, a retired policeman called Geraint Woolford was admitted to Abergale Hospital in north Wales and ended up next to another retired policeman called Geraint Woolford. The men weren’t related, had never met and were the only two people in the UK called Geraint Woolford. Imagine that conversation around the ward’s water cooler!
A blue whale can hold up to 5,000kgs of water in its mouth. (No, we’re not able to provide blue whale water coolers even if you are a large organisation).
In the UK, accents change noticeably about every 25 miles.
British Pennies, pre-1971, are used in the pendulum to adjust the time in London’s Big Ben clock tower.
The names of the English rivers Avon, Axe, Esk, Exe and Ouse all mean ‘river’ or ‘water’ in various ancient languages.
Now you know. In fairness, a blue whale isn’t really British, however according to the ‘Fishes Royal’ which states that all sturgeon, whales, porpoises and dolphins in the water around the UK belong to the Queen, apparently they are!
I’ve fact checked these as best I can – if you know differently – please feel free to correct me and provide your source.
by Fern Shaw | Mar 9, 2017 | Water, water cooler
If there’s one thing I love, its words. Long words; clever words; descriptive words; short words; double-entendres – they all make me smile.
What I love in particular though are euphemisms, or adjectives that have formed through colloquial speech and are either endemic to a particular region or country or have been picked up and adapted in different countries.
Depending on where you hail from, you probably use these expressions all the time, but perhaps you don’t know where they originate from. Here’s a choice few for your enjoyment. I for one, certainly didn’t know the origin of:
Doolally
What it means: Temporarily deranged or feeble-minded.
Example: ‘Uncle’s gone doolally again’.
Another meaning: Transported with excitement or pleasure.
Example: ‘I saw a pair of shoes that I know Doris would go doolally over’
Origin: Early 20th century: originally doolally tap, Indian army slang, from Deolali (the name of a town with a military sanatorium and a transit camp) + Urdu tap ‘fever’.
Argy-bargy
What it means: Noisy quarrelling or wrangling.
Example: ‘It’s all part of the argy bargy, he says, of the debate that has dominated politics over the past few months or so’.
Origin: Late 19th century (originally Scots): rhyming jingle based on argue.
Barmy
What it means: Eccentric or foolish.
Example: ‘If you ask me, that bloke going on about using sunflower oil as a petrol sounds right barmy’.
Origin: an obscure term derived from ‘barm’, that is, ‘the froth that forms on the top of fermenting malt liquors,” which had been metaphorically, but sparingly, used to mean ‘flighty’ or ‘excited’.
Gee-gees
What it means: Horses. Usually children and gambler’s use.
Example: ‘I’m off to place a bet on the gee-gees’.
Origin: Possibly from the founding father of Chester Races, Henry Gee, whose name led to the use of the term ‘gee-gee’ for horses. Also, ‘gee’ or ‘gee up’ is also a command to get a horse to move faster. It’s also apparently used to have a draft animal turn right. As opposed to haw, which is a command to turn to the left.
There’s also a rather hysterical (imo) joke that goes:
How do you spell ‘Hungry Horse’ in four letters?
M T G G (Empty Gee-Gee).
Who knew? Well, now you do. Why not try them out on a colleague on your next trip to the water cooler when you’re replenishing your water. If nothing else, it’s sure to raise a laugh, especially if you’re having a big day at the office.
by Fern Shaw | Feb 21, 2017 | Water, water cooler
We’re here to help. Yes, of course, we’re in the business of providing you with cool drinking (and hot)
water at your premises, whether that’s at your
office; warehouse; site; practice; university; college or
school, but we’re also concerned with ensuring that you drink enough
water to keep yourself well hydrated throughout the day, which is why we’ve written this ‘Best Practice Guide’ for you:
Step One
- Educate: Having everybody in the work space on board is the most crucial component in an hydration plan. Educate yourself about the negative effects and downsides resulting from drinking too many fizzy drinks and caffeinated drinks instead of water. Use visual reminders – e.g. put up a poster illustrating good hydration techniques; these are a great way to continually reinforce to you the importance of drinking water. The benefits of drinking sufficient water are manifold.
Step Two
- Assessment: The best way to assess your hydration status given the variables of body mass, work routines and other personal and physical aspects is to monitor urine colour. When you are drinking enough water your body is in balance and your urine will be a pale straw yellow colour (Hydrated). When you haven’t drank enough water your kidneys try to save as much water as they can and cause you urine to be darker in colour (Dehydrated). Speak to your local AquAid branch about our dehydration charts, which clearly illustrate the difference between being hydrated to mildly and severely hydrated.
Step Three
- Implementation: – The most critical part of the best practise guide is to ensure that drinking water is very readily accessible and is appealing to drink. Keep a bottle of water on your desk to encourage continuous sipping during the day. If you’re in a smaller work space, perhaps you and your colleagues can ask that the water cooler be placed in an area that you can either see from your desk or that you are walking past on more than one occasion during the day.
Conclusion: Encouraging hydration during the work day can have a significant impact on your own overall performance and well-being. This requires a commitment from you, so keep up to date on the positive effects of staying hydrated.
Contact us at AquAid today – we’d be delighted to assist you with which water cooler dispenser is best suited for you based on your requirements.
