I use the bus quite a lot in the UK and it's actually rare to see money changing hands.People over 60 get free local travel and there's any manner of commuted and student tickets.

Oyster Cards
 

In London we now have the Oyster Card system.

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Its a swipe card you simply wipe it across the reader and Bob's your uncle.

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I resisted buying an Oyster Card for years mainly because it was so heavily promoted (to the point of fascist co-ercion) by Ken Livingston: I dislike Ken Livingston a lot.

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:mad::mad::mad:

However I confess that, heavy handed though his tactics were, he was totally right about Oyster. It vastly speeds up the process of getting on a driver-operated ticket system bus, which is helpful to both passengers and driver and minimises the traffic jam when the bus stops to pick people up. I don't need to carry so much schrapnel in my pocket.

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Ken, you're still an obnoxious, supercillious little dog turd, but I am man enough to admit this. You were quite right about Oyster and I was quite wrong.

My God: but it really hurt me like Hell to say that.:mad: The horror, the horror...

I thought the NHL was also a violent collison/contact sport - but their season runs from September to the final of the Stanley Cup in April.

Also, am I correct in thinking that for one, or possibly two years, the NHL was suspended? Finance was the concern I believe.

In hockey your not supposed to tackle the other players and slam them into the ground. Just some friendly bumping. :D NFL players have been known to continue playing after breaking bones.

As for the "suspension", the NHL players went on strike for a while some years ago.

I have seen some NFL - but I'm a bit confused. How many players from each team are on the field at any one time?

Why is the ball so small (it's much smaller than a rugby ball) and brown in colour?

More answers
 

It's 11 players per side ... free substitution (any number of players going in or out between plays).
The size of the ball has actually evolved over the years. It used to be fatter in the middle and rounder at the ends. It's become more streamlined over the years to aid in forward passing. I think the main changes in those respects came in the late 1940s or the 1950s.
As far as the color, I think that just came from being made of leather. Although I have seen pictures of the early night games (again, back in the 1940s-1950s) when the ball was white, to make it more visible.

Re: the colour of the ball
 

In rugby it's been the other way around. The ball was originally dark brown, then in the late 1970s it changed to white - to aid television coverage.

Is there any other countries that take part in the "world series?" If not why is it called this??

Canada :)

Oh, I've a question I always wanted to ask an U.S. American:

Recently Iwatched a video on YT, Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama (Live)
and they had a rebel flag (see below) on stage.

Some guys in the comments were discussing and complaining about the flag.

So what is the meaning (nowadays) of this old flag, what does it stand for
in everyday life, e.g. when someone has a sticker with it on his car ?


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