Aaah, there's sweet

A Labradoodle is a cross between a poodle and a labrador. I expect you knew that but do you know why they decided to cross these two dogs and create a new breed?

It's for the benefit of allergic blind people. Or so the boy on the checkout in Sainsburys told me.

Labradors are well-know as good guide dogs but they are very hairy. And they have the sort of hair that if people are allergic to dogs they will be allergic to. Unlike poodles apparently.

Presumably poodles do not have the nature to be a good guide dog so a cross is the obvious answer. At least it was obvious to someone.

But, and I'm not being flippant about being blind - or allergy-prone - how many blind allergy sufferers can there be? Enough I suppose the answer is.

Another interesting thing I learned this evening is that the first known windmill was in Afghanistan. A windmill is one of those things that I thought was always there; I never thought that someone actually invented it. I am so ignorant I surprise myself.