To the best of my amazing and gorgeous recollection, I have only made two blog posts about flags. That being the case, and unlike Robocop 3, I wanted the third instalment to be fantastic. However, the problem is that I’m the creator, so instead of Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, it will be more like Highlander III: The Sorcerer.
I had previously discussed four countries that had changed their flags because of redesigns and name changes. I wanted to go one step further and talk about countries that no longer exist, thus their flags are no longer in use, as well as new nations and flags that have sprung up from their demise.
So, may I present to you three former failed fluttering flags. Enjoy.
Flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1946-1992). Credit: Đorđe Andrejević-Kun & SVG
The flag of Yugoslavia, known as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, had been through several small tweaks over the years, since the country was formed in 1918, at the end of the First World War. The largest tweak was adding a red star in the middle of the flag, following the Second World War. This version of the flag survived from 1946 to 1992.
The dissolution of the flag is linked to Yugoslavia itself. Back in 1918, when Yugoslavia was founded, it was built by joining six states or republics to create the country. They were Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
The colours of the flag represented various things. The equal red, white, and blue horizonal stripes, represent the shared heritage of the Southern Slavs; the red star symbolises communism, socialism, and the fight for freedom and liberation; and finally, the gold outline of the star represents the valor of the state and prosperity.
After the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia went through some massive upheaval, during which some republics wanted to have more autonomy, having declared independence. This resulted in the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and the horrific Yugoslav Wars, which raged across the region.
Currently, seven countries have risen from the ashes of Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.
The failure of Yugoslavia’s flag can be attributed to the collapse of Yugoslavia itself. The country ceased to exist and was eventually divided into seven republics, each adopting its own flag. Notably, the flags of Croatia, Serbia, and Slovakia feature horizontal stripes in red, white, and blue.
Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics/USSR)
Flag of the Soviet Union (1955-1991) Credit: СССР
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Like the flag of Yugoslavia and many others, the flag of the Soviet Union had been altered since its inception in 1922. The name Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was exactly what you imagined it would be. The nation was a union of various republics that used communism as the driving force behind their governments. These republics totalled 15, which were spread across Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and Central Asia.
They were known as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirgiziya, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Russian SFSR, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
With the colours of the Soviet Union flag, the red represented revolution; the hammer (workers) and the sickle (peasants) were adopted from the Russian Revolution, representing the two factions; and the yellow star symbolised the Soviet Union’s Communist Party.
After years of turmoil and mounting pressure from internal and external forces, the dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred on 26th December 1991. The republics that had made up the Soviet Union were now free and independent again, though some of them had already gained their independence earlier.
The death of the Soviet Union allowed these republics to be reborn, which the world now knows them as: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, along with their own flags.
It’s interesting to note that Russia has now annexed parts of Georgia and Ukraine, in an attempt, in my humble opinion, to absorb these countries back into the fold.
Gran Colombia
Third Flag of Gran Colombia 1821–1830. Credit: Wikipedia Commons
For this entry, we are bypassing the 20th century entirely and going to hang out in the 19th century, specifically Northern South America. The country was called Gran Colombia, and it only lasted 12 years, which is three World Cup cycles, from 17th December 1819 to 19th November 1831. To explain Gran Colombia, we need to understand why it existed in the first place, which is directly related to why it failed.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Spanish Empire controlled vast territories extending from the northernmost part of North America to the southernmost part of South America. In 1808, when Napoleon Bonaparte, not Dynamite, invaded Spain, he sparked a series of revolutions and wars of independence throughout South America.
One of the key figures at the time was Simón Bolívar, who envisioned the countries of South America breaking free from Spanish and Portuguese control and becoming a unified South America. Part of this vision included the creation of Gran Colombia, where, after gaining independence from the Spanish Empire, several countries combined their powers and formed Captain Planet…I mean, Gran Colombia.
Asking countries to fight wars of independence was one thing, but asking them, after gaining a hard-fought independence, to join an even larger country, in hindsight, may not have been the best idea, even with the best of intentions. Because of restructuring and resignations, along with internal and external political and economic turmoil and pressure, Grand Colombia collapsed and was finally dissolved in 1831.
Gran Colombia had an original flag, then two redesigns, along with another proposed flag redesign, before the dissolution of the country in its short lifespan. The final flag before dissolution featured yellow, blue, and red horizontal stripes, along with a central coat of arms. The yellow represented Hispanic America, the blue portrayed the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, while red represented Spain.
The coat-of-arms displayed two cornucopia, which were full of fruit and flowers, as these were symbols of wealth and abundance. In the centre, there is a quiver of arrows and an axe, along with a bow. The quiver has a tricolour (yellow, blue, red) ribbon tied to the bottom of it, which, to the best of my understanding, signifies union and strength. All of these items are inside an oval, which has the words, “República de Colombia,” which translates as “Republic of Colombia.”
The dissolution of Gran Colombia eventually gave South America and geography books the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. As you can see in the flags below, Gran Colombia’s legacy is in the tricolours of yellow, blue, and red, along with Ecuador having a central coat of arms. I tell you, history is cool, kids. History is cool.
There are other examples, of course, but as usual, I get far too distracted to make the blog interesting. Well, to be fair, I find them to be interesting; so that could be the problem, among many. If you can think of any flag-related topics I could discuss on this famous and beloved blog, please let me know.
So that’s it. The school holidays are upon us again, which means a lot of pyjama days for UMC1 and UMC2. Yay.
Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, go read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, say “Thank you” to the bus driver, and I’ll see you next week, because we are going back to 1962. Yeah, baby, Billy Joel would be disgusted.
So…how is everybody doing? It’s an interesting period in human history right now, and it can seem that things could be getting out of hand. Maybe things are already out of hand. Regardless of the truth, I want to take the time to acknowledge the deaths of two people who were recently announced.
Before I do, I realise I have discussed the deaths of people on this blog before, especially people I have never met, which is somewhat awkward and strange. How do you convey your thoughts and feelings about the matter? Do we have the right to do so? I don’t know what the proper answer or response could or should be; I never have.
I have no stirring speeches about the deaths of people with influence, only that by looking and examining ourselves, we can see that humanity can still shine through in these dire times, but also, understanding and being grateful that we got to experience their gifts that they shared with the world. Because maybe, just maybe, that’s the point.
Anyway, I want to talk about Sam Kieth and Chuck Norris.
Sam Kieth died on 15th March, aged 63 years old, and from what I can understand, he died from complications from Lewy body dementia, which is a form of dementia I never knew existed, I’m sorry to say.
For those not in the know, Kieth was a comic book creator who worked with many companies, including Aftershock, Dark Horse, DC, Image, Marvel, and others. Kieth created and co-created memorable characters, including, but not limited to, Cyber, Mr Gone, Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Mad Hettie, Goldie, Zero Girl, Roderick Burgess, Azazel, and Julie Winters, along with the three most well-known: Lucifer Morningstar, The Maxx, and Dream of the Endless.
I can’t tell you what the first Sam Kieth art I saw was, but I can tell you how it made me feel. I always thought just like his characters, Kieth’s art was not conventional; it was kooky, surreal, weird, offbeat, and odd. But that’s why I felt it stood out from the crowd, and that’s why his art worked. I would see his art somewhere and think, “That looks bonkers, it must be Sam Kieth’s. I love it!”, and it usually was. I enjoyed his art and storytelling, so his talents will be missed.
Sam Kieth in 2013 at a retrospective of his work at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. His bold art aesthetic and exploration of mature themes gave an adult edge to his comic book characters. Credit: Stephen Lam
It’s difficult to believe, but Death finally found the courage to tell Chuck Norris that he was actually dead. His formal death was recorded as 19th March 2026, in Hawaii, aged 86 years. Born Switchblade Killingsworth, Norris changed his name because he believed it didn’t sound tough enough.
Norris was a famous actor, martial artist, author, and screenwriter. Walker, Texas Ranger was one of his most famous roles, along with his scene-stealing cameo in Dodgeball.
He was the most dangerous, courageous, intelligent, and lethal man in the world. Norris managed to achieve some truly mighty feats, which include:
He could delete the Recycle Bin.
He once won a game of Connect Four in three moves.
He counted to infinity. Twice.
He could slam a revolving door.
He could strangle a man with a cordless phone.
He could start a fire by rubbing two ice cubes together.
He could divide by zero.
He could kill two stones with one bird.
He once played Russian roulette with a fully-loaded gun and won.
He would drink napalm to fight his heartburn.
He could manage to achieve a bachelor’s degree in scheduled time.
He didn’t read books. He would stare them down until he got the information he wanted.
He once beat paper, rock, and scissors, all at the same time.
He never blinked in his entire life. Never.
He could speak Braille.
He could build a snowman out of rain.
Chuck Norris appeared in the ‘Street Fighter II’ video game, but was removed by Beta Testers because every button caused him to do a roundhouse kick. When asked bout this “glitch,” Chuck Norris replied, “That’s no glitch.”
Chuck Norris did go hunting because the word hunting implies the possibility of failure. Chuck Norris went killing.
The only time Chuck Norris was ever wrong was when he thought he had made a mistake.
There are many more, but my eternal thanks go to Chuck Norris. I read books documenting his feats to UMC1 and UMC2, while they were baking in the womb. It did this for four reasons: to build a connection to them with my voice, to watch my wife suppress her laughter, to educate them on what a roundhouse kick was, and to inform my unborn children of the adventures of the world’s greatest man. Death has a Chuck Norris problem now.
Chuck Norris being Chuck Norris. Credit: Fickeringmyth
Seriously, both Sam Kieth and Chuck Norris have helped me become the geek I am today. Thank you.
This was a short blog post, so it is what it is. Thank you for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. It wouldn’t be New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website without your support.
Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch Heated Rivalry, and I’ll see you next week. Look after yourselves and your family.
The dust has settled, bets have been collected, and tears have been wiped away. Last weekend, the 2026 Men’s Six Nations Championship finished its fifth and final round, with all of the trophies having been won and given out.
If you’re new to this amazing account or rugby, then don’t despair – my two blog posts explaining the Six Nations Rugby Championship will clear things up. You can read at your leisure here and here. Sorted governor!
Now that the tournament is over, and despite the wise advice from Payroll, I decided to add an update. Namely, what happened in the tournament and which team won which trophy. With 10 of them, it can be a touch confusing, but here at Some Geek Told Me, we love a challenge. Well, a small challenge at least.
I know you’re as excited as I am to discuss these facts, so let’s talk about the 2026 Six Nations Rugby Championship, because nothing else in the world is happening right now. Absolutely nothing.
Credit: Six Nations Rugby
To begin this astonishing assessment, let’s discuss any important and interesting facts that have been revealed from this year’s tournament.
Thomas Ramos was the highest point scorer with 74.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey broke the record for most tries in a single Championship with nine tries.
In their last two games, France scored 88 points, but conceded 96 points.
In the final round, Wales won their first Six Nations match in 16 matches by defeating Italy. Their last win was against Italy in 2023.
The Solidarity Trophy, a new trophy, was introduced to be contested between France and Ireland.
Italy’s opening win over Scotland was their first opening win of a Six Nations campaign since 2013, when they defeated France, 23-18.
Hollie Davidson became the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations game.
After 35 years and 32 consecutive defeats, Italy recorded their first-ever win over England, 23-18.
England scored the most points (46) in a loss in a Six Nations match.
So now that’s out of the way, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of the post: Who won what trophies?
I’ll reveal the winners in reverse order, as I introduced them in the second blog post. Clear as mud?
The Solidarity/SolidaritéTrophy: Ireland vs France
If you remember, this trophy was brand new for the tournament, newly minted for 2026. The Solidary Trophy is played between Ireland and France, and on 5th February, France defeated Ireland, 36-14 at the Stade de France. This meant France became the inaugural winners of the Men’s Solidarity Trophy.
Victorious French captain, Antoine Dupont holds the Solidarity Trophy, after France defeated Ireland, 36-14, 5th February 2026. Credit: Guinness Six Nations
The Cuttitta Cup: Scotland vs Italy
To recap, the Cuttitta Cup is only competed between Scotland and Italy. It was introduced in 2022, and on 7th February, Italy reclaimed the Cuttitta Cup by defeating Scotland at the Stadio Olimpico, 18-15. This was only the second time that Italy had won the trophy.
Italy celebrating winning the Cuttitta Cup, over Scotland in 2026. Credit: Six Nations Rugby
The Doddie Weir Cup: Scotland vs Wales
The Doddie Weir Cup was introduced in 2018 to be competed between Scotland and Wales. Scotland retained the trophy, having defeated Wales, 26-23, on 21st February at Millennium Stadium. This was Scotland’s fifth time winning the trophy.
Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu and Rory Darge lift the Doddie Weir Cup during a Guinness Six Nations match between Wales and Scotland at The Principality Stadium, on February 21, 2026, in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
The Auld Alliance Trophy: France vs Scotland
The Auld Alliance Trophy is the rival trophy that is played between France and Scotland. It was introduced in 2018, and the 2026 edition was played at Murrayfield Stadium on 7th March. I watched the extended highlights of this game, and it was madness. 90 points were scored, with Scotland reclaiming the trophy by beating France, 50-40. It was Scotland’s first time winning the trophy since 2021, and its fourth time overall.
Scotland celebrating winning the Auld Alliance Trophy in 2026. Credit: Scottish Rugby
The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy: France vs Italy
On 22nd February, France played Italy at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, for the honour of winning the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy. This trophy was introduced in 2007, and since then, Italy have only won it twice. At the end of the game, France was victorious and retained the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, downing Italy, 33-8. France has held the trophy since 2014.
French captain Antoine Dupont was awarded the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy, by Italian captain, Michele Lamaro. Credit: Six Nations Rugby
The Centenary Quaich: Ireland vs Scotland
This rival trophy was decided in the first game of the fifth and final round. Ireland and Scotland compete for the Centenary Quaich, which was introduced in 1989. The game was played on 14th March at Aviva Stadium, which saw Ireland triumph over Scotland, 43-21. Ireland retained the Centenary Quaich, which they have held since 2018.
I’m very sorry, but I couldn’t find any photographs of Ireland celebrating with the Centenary Quaich in 2026. The best I could do was this photo from last year. HRH Princess Anne, Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, looks on after presenting Caelan Doris of Ireland with the Century Quaich Trophy, after Ireland defeated Scotland, during the Guinness Six Nations 2025. | Getty Images
The Millennium Trophy: England vs Ireland
The Millennium Trophy was introduced in 1988 to be competed for between England and Ireland. Ireland retained the trophy, having defeated England, 42-21, on 21st February at Twickenham Stadium. Ireland has held the trophy since 2025.
Once again, I have searched the internet, but I could not find a single photo of Ireland celebrating winning the Millennium Trophy for 2026. Sorry, I looked for over 45 minutes.
The Calcutta Cup: England vs Scotland
The Calcutta Cup, the oldest international rugby trophy in the world, is competed for between England and Scotland. It was introduced in 1879, and on 14th February, Scotland reclaimed the Calcutta Cup by defeating England at Murrayfield Stadium, 31-20.
Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu lifts the Calcutta Cup during a Guinness Six Nations match between Scotland and England at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, on February 14, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Six Nations Championship Wooden Spoon
If you can cast your mind back, this title is a non-award, or rather a (dis)honour for the team that finished last in the championship. Wales finished bottom of the championship with six points and one win. Wales have been awarded the Wooden Spoon since 2024.
Dejected Wales players huddle up at full time, having failed to keep pace with England from early on in the game. Photograph: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans/Shutterstock
Six Nations Championship Grand Slam
Like the Wooden Spoon, the Grand Slam is a title or honour; it is not a trophy. To achieve the Grand Slam, a team needs to win all five games, essentially beating everybody else. For 2026, no one team managed to defeat all of the others, because each team suffered at least one loss.
This meant the Grand Slam was not achieved in 2026, though it’s interesting to note that the Grand Slam has not been achieved since Ireland did it in 2023.
Six Nations Championship Triple Crown
Unlike the past two entries, the Triple Crown is a trophy, though to be honest, it’s more like a plate. This trophy is played for between the Home Nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It is only awarded to the team that defeats all three of the other Home Nation teams. It was first used in 1883, but a trophy was only introduced in 2006.
For 2026, Ireland won the Triple Crown, having defeated England 42-21, Wales 27-17, and Scotland 43-21. Ireland has retained the Triple Crown since 2022; however, since no team won the Triple Crown in 2024, Ireland held onto it by default.
14 March 2026; Ireland captain Caelan Doris lifts the Triple Crown trophy after his side’s victory in the Guinness 6 Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Six Nations Championship Trophy
And we saved the biggest and arguably the most important trophy for last. The current Six Nations Championship trophy was introduced in 2015 and is awarded to the team with the highest amount of points on the table, after the fifth and final round. The winning team for 2026 was France, with 21 points. France also won the trophy in 2025 for the first time since 2022.
France’s win over England in Paris clinched the Six Nations rugby union title for the second straight year. (Getty Images: Catherine Steenkeste)
So, if you have been keeping score, the results from 2025 and 2026 look like this:
As you can see, France, Ireland, and Scotland have ended up with three trophies each, with Italy collecting one. Now, if you ask me who won the tournament and who came last, I would easily say unto you that France was the winner, as they came first, and Wales finished last.
However, if you asked me who the biggest winners and losers of the tournament were, I would give you different answers. Firstly, in my humble opinion, for the biggest winner(s), France has not changed since last year; as they finished first again, with 21 points, and collected three trophies (Yes, they did lose the Auld Alliance Trophy, but they gained the Solidarity Trophy).
Ireland started with three trophies and finished with the same three trophies, but also moved from third last year to second this year, so to me, they are the same, even achieving the same amount of points: 19.
So, what’s the answer? It’s Scotland and Italy, that’s who. I’ll explain. Like I said before, France and Ireland’s performances in 2026 are nearly identical to last year’s performances. Yes, both teams are amazing, but they haven’t improved. They both won four games and lost one.
Compare them to Scotland, which finished fourth last year with two trophies, two wins, three losses, and 11 points. And when measured against 2026’s results, we see that Scotland has improved. They ended up with three trophies, three wins, two losses, and 16 points.
In 2025, Italy finished fifth on the table, with no trophies, one win, four losses, and five points. Compared to this year, Italy finished fourth on the table, with one trophy, two wins, three losses, and nine points. To me, Scotland and Italy are the only two teams that have really improved since last year.
Alright, who is the biggest loser then? Again, it’s easy to point to Wales, because they finished last. Let’s examine Wales’ results last year as well. In 2025, Wales finished sixth (last) on three points, with no trophies, no wins, and five losses; but in 2026, Wales finished sixth again, but with six points, no trophies, one win, and four losses. That is a slight improvement.
No, the real loser of the tournament is England. The evidence is this: last year England finished second on the table with 20 points, one trophy, four wins, and one loss; however, in 2026, they finished fifth with eight points, no trophies, one win, and four losses. You can call Wales’ campaign as poor, but England’s was a disaster.
It was their worst result since the tournament became the Six Nations in 2000, and also the first time since 1987 that England had only secured one win in any of the Five Nations or Six Nations Championships. I’m honestly surprised Steve Borthwick has not been fired as coach yet, or that Maro Itoje has not been sacked as captain. I’m allowed to say this because New Zealand rugby is not in a good way at the moment, as well.
Again, just to be clear, I think Ireland and France are extremely dangerous teams that can beat anybody in the world, as they are ranked third and fourth on the World Rankings. New Zealand is very wary of them. The Women’s Six Nations Championship starts on 11th April, so we also need to keep track of that. Will the Red Roses win the championship again? I have no idea, but probably.
And that is another blog post for another week. Did you watch any of the Men’s Six Nations matches? As always, please let me know. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, and I hope you enjoyed the equinox. Next week’s blog post has changed because of recent news, but I’ll explain all of that next time. Look after yourself, and I’ll see you on Monday.
I was thinking the other day about what brilliant subject I could write about for the next blog post, when I realised that the decision had already been made for me. Yes, dear fans, it’s that time in the cycle when the greatest scientific communication of our age comes back for another round of fantastic nonsense. I have heard your prayers, and they have been answered!
Your waiting is over, for Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System has returned once again for 2026. I know, the anticipation is immense. For previous courageous instalments, please see the list below:
For those of you who are counting, this is my 25th entry in the tour that nobody asks for. The world seems determined to tear itself apart, but rest assured, the quality of this account is still poor, just the way you like it. The new entry is about Charon, which I briefly mentioned last time, so without further time wasting, away we go!
Credit: NASA
I wasn’t sure if I would ever reach Charon. I thought I would have given up by now, but here we are. We’re going to break this celestial object down, just like the others, because that’s what happens on this account: a lot of repetition and bad jokes.
As discussed on the last tour stop on New Zealand’s fifth least favourite website, Charon is one of five known moons of Pluto, and it’s also the largest. Charon’s relationship with Pluto is much like a one-night stand without contraception; this is important, and it’s going to come back. We’ll discuss this later in a safe space.
Charon has a diameter of 1,212 km, which works out to be just over half of Pluto’s diameter. For the record, having a moon which is half the size of its parent planet is extremely odd. Like freaky odd. For comparison, the distance is roughly the same as travelling from Rome, Italy, to Tilburg, in the Netherlands. Charon is small, but it can still beat Ceres in a wrestling match, as well as being the 12th-largest moon in the Solar System.
Much like the discovery of penicillin, Charon’s discovery was by accident. In 1978, James Christy, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory, had been observing Pluto to refine and determine Pluto’s orbit around the Sun. After looking at some photographic plates, Christy noticed an elongated blob.
The way I understand it, Christy consulted another astronomer at the observatory, Robert Harrington. Together, they discovered photographic plates of Pluto dating back to 1965, with the same elongated blob. The blob turned out to be Charon, Pluto’s first discovered moon.
If you’re up on your Greek mythology, you would have recognised Charon as being named after the delightful gentleman, whose job was to ferry departed souls across the River Styx and Acheron, to the Underworld, which was ruled over by…Hades, the Greek equivalent of Pluto. Coincidentally, you may have also heard of the ancient custom of placing coins on the eyes of a corpse, as the money would serve as payment for Charon, to transport their soul.
Mosiac of New Horizons MVIC color observations of Charon obtained during the final 6.4 day rotation on approach to the system during July 7-14, shown in polar orthographic projection. Image by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Remember that one-night stand from before? Well, the results are in, and congratulations, you’re going to be a parent! Charon orbits Pluto at a distance of roughly 19,640 km, which, in cosmic terms, is stalker-level status. This is only the start of Pluto and Charon’s freaky relationship.
To explain this, we need to take a sip of hot chocolate and concentrate, because we need to discuss Pluto’s barycenter. A barycenter, to the best of my understanding, is the most common centre of mass around which two or more cosmic objects orbit. These can include stars, planets, dwarf planets, and moons.
It can be referred to as the balance point, where gravity holds objects together within a system. This usually means the barycenter is located closer to the cosmic object with more mass, which can sometimes be located outside of the larger object. Earth’s barycenter with the Moon is situated within the Earth, about 4,671 km from its centre. Since the barycenter is not at the exact centre of the Earth, the Earth’s centre of mass follows a small, wobbly path around this point.
Another example is with the Sun-Earth barycenter, which can be found 449 km from the Sun’s centre, but it’s still inside the Sun. Since the Sun is so much larger than the Earth, the Sun also experiences a slight wobble. However, the Pluto-Charon barycenter is, once again, odd, because the point that they both orbit around is found not within Pluto, but rather outside of it.
This has led to both Pluto and Charon being mutually tidally locked to each other, which is another way of explaining that the same surfaces of Pluto and Charon are always facing each other. For more comparison, the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, but the Earth is not locked to the Moon.
Because of these facts, Pluto and Charon are sometimes referred to as a “double dwarf planet” binary system.
Charon orbits Pluto every 6.4 Earth days, with an orbital speed of 0.21 to 0.23 km/s, which, in the scale of the Solar System, is quite slow. The distance from the Sun to Charon is also remarkable, with an average measurement of 5.9 billion km. Sometimes with distance and numbers like these, it’s easier to accept it and move on.
Charon has a huge fracture system, unlike anything seen on Pluto. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Much like Voyager 2 providing information about Triton, New Horizons‘ flyby in 2015 has gifted humanity with some extraordinary information, data, and images of Pluto’s largest moon. That’s all well and good, but is there anything else we could learn about Charon? Be careful what you wish for.
Let’s talk about Charon’s geology. Its age is believed to be around 4.5 billion years old, but to be honest, it doesn’t look a million years over 3.8 billion. The surface is very active, and is covered with water ice, canyons, carters, and some pretty gnarly names of surface features. These include, but are not limited to, Tardis Chasma, Nostromo Chasma, Kirk, Organa, Ripley, Tintin, Skywalker, Spock, Sulu, Vader, Kurbrick Mons, Gallifrey Macula, Vulcan Planitia, and, of course, the Neverland Regio, which was formerly nicknamed, Mordor Macula.
Charon’s polar cap, the Neverland Regio, is famous for being a massive reddish-brown area at its north pole. This region is made up of tholins, which are dark organic compounds. The colour comes from methane escaping from Pluto, which becomes trapped at Charon’s cold and dark pole during its decades-long winter. During this time, this methane is transformed into red, complex hydrocarbons by solar wind and ultraviolet radiation.
Other equally cool facts about Charon are:
Charon is believed to be too small to sustain a permanent atmosphere, but it does have a crazy 120° axial tilt.
Because Charon is mutually tidally locked with Pluto, it shares Pluto’s 248-year orbit around the Sun.
Each season on Charon can last over 60 years.
The average surface temperature is roughly -230°C, while during winter, it can drop even further to -258°C.
Evidence on Charon’s surface suggests it had ancient cryovolcanic activity.
Charon is a curious little ice ball, but it is still part of our family, and we love it. What is your favourite fact about Charon? As always, please let me know.
I appreciate you continuing to join me on this fascinating tour. The narration is pathetic, but the views are amazing. Thank you for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. My Twitter and Mastodon accounts are still active, pumping out non-award-winning content daily; you should check them out.
Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, don’t bomb schools, and I’ll see you next week for the Six Nations winners update. Stop it, I know you love it.
Using the way-back machine, let’s travel back to 2022, where I wrote about various reviews of two television shows that I hadn’t seen at the time. I thought it was overdue to revisit this concept, but instead of writing about another television show, we’re going to look at a movie. This sounds like another excellent idea, like fire-proof matches, or ejector seats in helicopters.
We are spoiled for choice, as we are surrounded by a collection of motion pictures, whether they are shown at the cinema or through various streaming services. What an age to live in!
However, considering her spouse, the U.S. president, the Board of Peace chairman, the winner of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, the recent recipient of a hand-me-down Nobel Peace Prize, and convicted felony, Donald Trump, has been busy bombing Iran, I thought it would be fitting to look at Melania Trump’s movie, Melania.
Let’s establish something first. I can think of no conceivable reason why I would ever watch, Melania. Seriously, I don’t want to watch it. If I were on a long-haul flight, and I had no book, with the movie stuck on repeat, then maybe. A big maybe.
So, how does someone review a movie that they have no intention of ever watching? The answer is very simple; I read what other people have said. I had a staff meeting about this subject, and the consensus was that we should try to be fair and neutral. However, sometimes we can be biased, and today is one of those days.
Melania premiered on 29th January 2026, with a budget of US$40 million, and has made US$16.6 million worldwide, which technically makes it a flop. From what I understand, the film covers Melania’s movements and experiences around the last 20 days leading up to the second inauguration of everybody’s favourite president, Donald Trump. Sounds action-packed stuff, right?
And with that, let’s make it so!
‘Melania’ movie posters vandalized across LA. Credit: Fox 11 News
I enjoy reading humorous reviews as much as the next person, so this was a fun experience for me, unlike smelling an open bag of Sour Cream and Chives from 500 m away. Gross.
Because you demand nothing but the best from this wayward literary venture, I have collected some of the funniest reviews for Melania and have tried to group them accordingly, because I can, and it looks neat. Also, I am aware of review bombing, so thank you in advance for the heads up.
Rotten Tomatoes: (Accurate for 5th March 2026)
11% Tomatometer
98% Audience Score
Coleman Spilde: Salon.com 7th February 2026
This documentary doesn’t absolve any sins; it highlights them. “Melania” taunts the viewer and takes glee in the assumption that they can’t do anything about it.
Joseph Robinson: Fish Jelly Films (YouTube) 6th February 2026
More PR campaign than personal portrait, Melania is an astonishingly dull documentary that masquerades as a glamorous immigrant story while offering little insight beyond carefully curated image-making.
Robert Denerstein: Denerstein Unleashed 4th February 2026
By any critical standards I’m familiar with, I’ll tell you that Melania isn’t much of a documentary; it’s more like a plush Life Styles of the Rich and Famous episode that bleeds into a chorus of booming triumphalism centering on Trump’s inauguration.
Amy Nicholson: Los Angeles Times 3rd February 2026
Melania” plays like a sizzle reel for her post-political (post-spousal?) future career in which she may rouse herself to be a guest judge on a reality competition show.
Calum Cooper: Cinerama Film 3rd February 2026
Melania is shambolic, putrid, pitiful garbage: A brazen, awkward, irredeemable infomercial that ignores truth and scrutiny in favour of performative humility. It’s not just wretched – it’s offensive to the collective intelligence of the human race.
Donald Clarke: Irish Times 31st January 2026
No good impression emerges of the former Slovenian model. No bad impression emerges either. Ratner’s film achieves, rather, a sort of passive distance – as you might get by pointing a camera, for close to two hours, at a waterfall or a wheat field.
IMDb: (Accurate for 5th March 2026)
1.4/10 rating
Sleepin_Dragon: 1/10 rating 30th January 2026
I can’t pretend I sat through this to the end. There was only so much I could take, and as we left the cinema, the screen itself was empty. That probably says everything I need to say about this dire ….movie.
meltymark: 1/10 rating 30th January 2026
I’m not a political person, politics are disgusting to me on both sides of the isle and I understand Melania is not a politician and deserves some respect and dignity like all other people… but
This was not only boring, but it was also incredibly painful to watch. It reminded me of the feeling you get when a boss or person in authority is bragging about themselves and you have to just take it and act like it doesn’t repulse you and your body language and whole being just can’t take it to the point of it making you physically ill.
andrew-lundberg-1970: 1/10 rating 31st January 2026
Everything about this film is pure tragedy, and not in a meaningful or intentional way. It’s dull, self-important, and completely devoid of insight, as if it mistakes moodiness for depth and emptiness for sophistication. The pacing drags, the storytelling goes nowhere, and whatever point it thinks it’s making never arrives. If I could give it less than one star, I would. Don’t waste your time, your money, or your patience on this hollow mess.
mbvqp: 1/10 rating 1st February 2026
Melania” is an utter WASTE OF TIME and MONEY-hands down the WORST MOVIE I’ve ever seen. Its disjointed plot, uninspired performances, and cringeworthy ridiculous dialogue make it a tedious chore to sit through. Rather than offering insight, it delivers a bland, utterly uninspiring experience that adds absolutely nothing to the broader discourse. Please do yourself an enormous favour and SKIP THIS DISASTER entirely. You’ll be glad that you did!
rppratings: 1/10 rating 5th February 2026
Melania is less of a movie and more of a painfully long exercise in boredom. Calling it hollow would be generous – this film is a glossy, lifeless shell with absolutely nothing inside. It drags, it stalls, it goes nowhere, and somehow still feels longer than its runtime. Watching paint dry would’ve delivered more emotional payoff.
The “story,” if you can even call it that, is buried under endless slow shots, awkward silence, and a level of stiffness that makes mannequins look expressive. Every moment that should feel revealing or meaningful instead feels cold, staged, and completely devoid of humanity. It’s not mysterious – it’s empty.
The dialogue is flat, the pacing is brutal, and the entire thing feels like a stretched-out PR video nobody asked for. By the end, I wasn’t frustrated, I wasn’t moved – I was just stunned that something so expensive-looking could be so painfully pointless.
Melania isn’t just bad – it’s spectacularly, monumentally dull. A beautiful wrapper around absolutely nothing. A total waste of time.
JoshuaT-253: 1/10 rating 19th February 2026
There is nothing harder to describe than a movie that is simply dull and uninteresting. I could sit here and describe how nothing happens for close to 80% of the time. Just a lady sitting around waiting for things to happen. She then travels from place to place multiple times in great and tedious detail with nothing to show for it than more waiting to travel to yet another place. It has almost zero content, nothing to hold interest or to connect with at all.
…No doubt there is a great documentary to be made about Melania Knauss, the ambitious model from out of Slovenia who married a New York real-estate mogul and then found herself cast in the role of a latter-day Eva Braun, but the horrific Melania emphatically isn’t it. It’s one of those rare, unicorn films that doesn’t have a single redeeming quality. I’m not even sure it qualifies as a documentary, exactly, so much as an elaborate piece of designer taxidermy, horribly overpriced and ice-cold to the touch and proffered like a medieval tribute to placate the greedy king on his throne.
…Last night, I left an empty chickpea can on my counter. When I came back 30 minutes later, small, black bugs had swarmed the tin and were crawling over my sink. I would rather relive that moment a hundred times over than have to watch another minute of the movie Melania.
…Cameras followed Melania in the twenty days leading up to Trump’s second Inauguration. About nineteen of them seem to have been devoted to planning Melania’s big event, a candlelit dinner for MAGA backers and bagmen, including Bezos. Chef Chris’s menu opens with a “golden egg and caviar,” an event planner says. At this point, you think that “Melania” has broken the fourth wall, that the far-too-obvious symbolism is about to be acknowledged and then punctured or dismissed. But, no, the gilded hors d’œuvres are for real, even if, as a metaphor, they are at best incomplete. With “Melania,” you get the brittle shell, but none of the rich internal goo that makes for a compelling portrait.
…People will tell you to remember that this is just a documentary and that’s why it’s boring, but that’s just plain wrong. This documentary shows no historical value other than “my husband became the president.” I would not show this to my children because I see no role model. If I want to show my kids a documentary, I’d choose one with a more empowering figure, someone they can look up to and strive to be.
…I cannot recommend “Melania” as a good movie or even an interesting one. It has the feel of a soothingly looped AI screen saver, a trance-inducing spell where nothing matters so long as your high heels aren’t hurting your feet. Yet against all odds, there is a truth in her SUV-to-tarmac-to-SUV-to-tarmac insularity. Future historians will be glad to have “Melania” as a lens into this moment in time. Like everything she touches, it’s a costly artifact.
…Melania is a documentary that never comes to life. It’s a “portrait” of the First Lady of the United States, but it’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial. Is it cheesy? At moments, but mostly it’s inert. It feels like it’s been stitched together out of the most innocuous outtakes from a reality show. There’s no drama to it. It should have been called “Day of the Living Tradwife.
Melania many go down in history as one of the least revealing documentaries ever made. But if you’ve never watched the First Lady get on and off a plane, Brett Ratner’s got a movie for you.
…Melania is like a horror film with nothing scary in it, or a crime thriller with no twists, or an action film with no fighting. It is a documentary with no interest in exploring its central figure beneath her most superficial level. It is incomprehensibly empty.
But I think the best review I have discovered is this:
Couldn’t hear what the hell was going on during the film because the whole theater was filled with dudes in red hats sucking each other off load af.
Now, in the interests of being fair, not every single Melania review is negative; some, in fact, praise the film. Different strokes for different folks, though. Should you watch the film or give it a pass? I would give it a hard pass, not even to watch it, to decry it.
It goes for a general rule of thumb for any comic, book, movie, TV show, computer game, music, chip flavour or documentary; don’t listen to anybody else’s review or opinion. If you want to experience a product, go and experience it yourself; that way, you’ll always know. If you like it, then praise the living hell out of it; if not, then go the other way.
To quote one of the 90’s greatest arse-kickers, “The power is yours!”
And that, dear friends, brings another jam-packed blog post filled with mystery to a close. Also, regardless of what happens with Trump’s non-war with Iran, Iran is due to play all of its group games of the FIFA World Cup in the United States, with the first game against us, New Zealand, on 15th June. Who knows if Trump will let them into the country or if there will be a boycott? Who knows?
Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch The Creator, and I’ll see you next week.
It’s nice to be reassured that the important things in this crazy old world never change; Jonathan Pie keeps holding back on telling us how he really feels; Donald Trump has exonerated himself; and New Zealand’s second most popular conspiracy theorist, Brian Tamaki, is still fighting against non-Christian immigration. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I’ve been meaning to write about Parkrun for the last few months, and this week’s blog post has been rewarded with that honour. Yay. I’ve written some truly inspiring blog posts about running, so it’s a wonder you haven’t read or heard about them. What’s that? You haven’t? Oh, never mind, nobody is perfect, except for Chuck Norris.
And with that hard-hitting introduction, let’s embark on a journey of self-discovery and punishment, as only those who suffer through running can truly understand.
SPOILER: This is not a paid advertisement. I’m not popular enough for any of that.
Credit: Parkrun
If you’re like me and walk around completely oblivious to the things other people take for granted, you may have never heard of Parkrun. Until August 2025, I had never either. It wasn’t until our small free community weekly newspaper was advertising it, that I took notice of it.
So, Scott, spit it out. What is Parkrun? No, it’s not a new name with Generation Alpha children that’s trending; far from it. Parkrun is a fun run, though some people believe the words “fun” and “run” should never be in the same sentence. Basically, Parkrun is a weekly 5 km fun run that is managed by volunteers for walkers and runners.
And that’s another blog post for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk…as if.
Parkrun was introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004 by Paul Sinton-Hewitt, but now has spread to over 26 countries, with over 10 million participants. As I said earlier, it is run by volunteers who organise the weekly 5 km runs, which are timed events for walkers and runners.
There are over 2,000 locations worldwide and over 60 locations in good, old New Zealand. I feel rather special because, as I said earlier, I had never heard of Parkrun until last year. I was only 21 years late, which is quite good for me. I’m planning on ditching dial-up internet soon, because this broadband thing seems to be popular.
Anyway, my town has a Parkrun, and wouldn’t you know it, the circuit is 5 km. Well, to be honest, I don’t know if the course is exactly 5 km, but the course consists of three laps, so maybe the course is a few metres off, but what’s five metres between friends? If you haven’t done Parkrun before, I can explain what it’s like, though I haven’t been to another course.
During the summer months, the run starts at 8 am, which is a shock to the system for a Saturday. I only live a 15-minute walk from the course, so that’s (un)lucky. Before the run starts, there’s always a meeting for the first timers, where they run through what to expect and how it operates.
The deal is that it’s free to run; however, since it’s a timed event, you need a barcode that allows your time to be recorded. To secure one, you go to the Parkrun website and register your details. You’re given a barcode, where you can download it to your phone, or, as I did, print it off and carry it in your pocket.
You can invest in other options like cards and wristbands, but they all cost. Since my barcode is looking very tatty and battered, I may one day save up for a wristband. Sadly, I’m not cool enough for that yet. Sorry, I’m like a middle-aged geek at a library, I get distracted too much. Focus, Scott, get back on track. The barcode works like this: at the finish of the race, and if you want to have an official time, you run through the chute.
People are recording the time as you cross the line, and then there will be someone handing out tokens with a barcode on them. The next step is crucial, as I usually give the people the wrong item. You will have two items in your hands now: your barcode, in whatever form that takes (print for me), and a plastic token.
At the end of the chute, there will be a third group of people waiting for you. You will give them your barcode to be scanned, and they will return it to you once this is done. Next, you will hand over the plastic token for scanning; however, you will not get this token back, as it will be recycled for the following week.
Since the run is only 5 km, runners and walkers of all abilities start at the same time, which means everyone is competing at once. The final step is to wait for the results. I believe you receive the results via email in under 90 minutes. However, for me, it’s a hollow victory.
The results contain several pieces of information
Your official race time (Also, if this time was your new personal best).
The total number of races you have competed in.
The number of races you have competed in at that venue.
Your overall placing against all of the competitors.
Your overall placing against all of the competitors in your gender group.
Your placing overall against all of the competitors in your gender and age group.
These results are a great way to gauge your progress each week, but there’s one key statistic that I haven’t discussed. Along with the others, there is an age-graded score, which is a percentage. All of the other statistics made sense, and I could understand them, but not the age-graded score. I made the mistake of clicking on the link that would explain it.
All parkrun events use age grading to allow parkrunners to compare results. Age grading takes your time and uses the world record time for your gender and age to produce a score (a percentage).
Age Grades are calculated to allow rough comparisons between our participants, and should not be taken too seriously. For example, age grading makes no allowance for different weather conditions or the varying terrains of our courses.
We do not share the actual table used to perform the calculations but it is loosely based on the tables produced by WMA, previously known as WAVA.
Finally parkrun age grade values are based on established, international proxy metrics, which are currently only available for male and female categories. Should a participant select “prefer not to say” or “another gender identity”, gender-related data will be absent.
In other words, your effort is graded against elite local, national, and international athletes. No matter how amazing your run was, even with the other finishing results, scoring under 60% humbles you a lot. Also, it’s a hell of a thing to have a 60-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy pass you. It really builds up your self-esteem and confidence.
I find it interesting when you get to expect particular people to pass you each week, when you’ve been there enough times. Sometimes they pass me on the third lap, and I feel I’m doing well. However, the opposite is true when they pass me on the first lap, and I feel instantly defeated. Yay.
For a free weekly event, Parkrun is fast becoming a staple in my life, and even though each week you are racing against other runners, and of course, yourself, I’m still enjoying it. And in this topsy-turvy world, finding something that challenges you and makes you happy, for whatever reasons, can’t be a bad thing. If you haven’t tried Parkrun, once again, do yourself a favour and give it a go.
Have you done Parkrun before? What are your thoughts? As always, please let me know.
Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals (Go, New Zealand!) and final, and I’ll see you next week for the review of a movie I never want to see.
Hi, and welcome back. After last week’s mammoth undertaking of writing six entries for We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1961, I thought I might take it easy and discuss something light, like the Epstein Files. My wife asked me what I was blogging about this week, so I told her. “That’s a can of worms, isn’t it?” she replied. It certainly is.
I know, it’s not the most positive and uplifting story, now is it? However, this blog has been rattling around in my mind for some time now, so I apologise because I needed to get it out.
As usual with the hard-hitting journalism you have come to expect from yours truly, today’s blog post will not cover Jeffery Epstein per se, as in his crimes. His convictions for sex trafficking and child sex offences have been thoroughly covered and documented by seasoned and professional writers and reporters, not some part-time blogger from the South Pacific.
No, I would like to discuss the obvious aspects of the Epstein Files, which I believe need attention. Clear? Great, let’s see how I go with this.
Redacted documents are shown in a photo illustration in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, after the Justice Department began releasing records from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Even in New Zealand, the Epstein Files continue to garner attention. Case in point, with my ugly mug. Now, if you don’t know what the Epstein Files are, then you have been either living a lonely lifestyle or living with the bliss of ignorance, and I don’t know which is better.
The best way for me to explain the Epstein Files is, sadly, to go back to Epstein himself. In a nutshell, for decades, Epstein was a high roller investor who, among other things, operated a sex trafficking business, where he located underage boys and girls, as well as adult women, and transported them to his ultra-elite friends/associates for sex crimes. Epstein died of suicide in 2019, while awaiting trial.
As for the Epstein Files, here is another crash course. They are a collection of records, numbering over six million documents, that relate to Epstein’s activities and crimes. They contain videos, documents, images, and emails that connect Epstein to some of his ultra-elite club of mates. There is more to it, but these are the bare bones of the situation.
Recently, the United States Department of Justice released over three million documents from the Epstein Files, where some were heavily redacted, while others were not redacted enough. With me so far?
Some of the names in the files were not a surprise, because they have been linked to Epstein for decades. The media and the public have known about the connections, just not what those connections were exactly. Essentially, just what their relationship to Epstein actually involved.
In the public court, any person named in the Epstein Files is guilty of sex crimes. However, before people are lynched because their name appeared in the Epstein Files, it pays to remember two things: under the law, people are innocent until proven guilty; and just because someone’s name is mentioned in the files, it does not mean they are automatically guilty.
To my understanding, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and even Pikachu were mentioned in the Epstein Files. However, at least to me, there is a colossal difference between being mentioned in Epstein-related emails, like the three above, versus being connected to Epstein’s activities, or at the very least, being in some way associated with him.
Epstein survivors are seen holding photos of their younger selves, as some of them recite their ages when they met first met Jeffrey Epstein in a video from World Without Exploitation published on November 16, 2025. (World Without Exploitation)
Over the last two weeks, we have seen several people resign from their jobs because of internal and external pressure applied to them over their connection to Epstein, no matter how innocent, benign, or small that connection was. Just the fact that they were in some way linked to Jeffrey Epstein means they are trying to save their image by resigning. Fair enough.
Some of these people I feel quite bad for, as they may not have done anything wrong. You are welcome to disagree with me, but I haven’t finished my rant. There’s another group of people I feel sorry for, and that is the survivors. Which, of course, guides us to the other names in the files; the real names of the people we really should care about.
Like the difference between being mentioned in emails versus being involved with Epstein’s activities, there is also a difference between being mentioned three times in the files versus being mentioned 3,000, 30,000, or even 300,000 times. For me, it’s the number of times they are mentioned in the files, which is the concern.
Two people could be mentioned in the files, with one person being mentioned four times, while the other person’s name appears 38,000 times. In my opinion, out of the two, I would want to know why the second person is mentioned 38,000 times in the files connected to a children’s sex trafficking network.
Should the person whose name is mentioned five times in the files be investigated? Sure, by all means, yes. However, before we do that, we should talk to the person mentioned 38,000 times first.
This transition brings us to the bulk of my blog: Are any people ever going to be prosecuted, or at least investigated for possible sex crimes, related to the Epstein Files? I could be wrong about this, but Epstein’s operation lasted for decades, and in all of that time, only Epstein himself, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Jean-Luc Brunel have been prosecuted over the crimes. In saying that, over the new information release, Thorbjørn Jagland (Former Norwegian prime minister) and Peter Mandelson (British politician) are now facing charges.
Sources: Getty Images; Medium; US House Oversight Committee Graphic: Alex Leeds Matthews, CNN
The sheer scale of the operation, and the famous and ultra-rich people involved in it, just boggles my mind that it went on for so long. It’s a stain of accountability that the perpetrators of these crimes have managed, potentially, to hide their crimes behind wealth, titles, and friends, believing that laws and rules do not apply to them.
That, because of their positions in the world, their belief that they can prey on the most vulnerable members of our society, children, and suffer no consequences or punishment, flies in the face of every adult trying to teach children about consequences.
The Epstein Files remind us of the worst of humanity, on what fame, money and power can bring to a person, to create a concept that they are untouchable; beyond the law, because laws don’t apply to them. They are like a real cabal of supervillains that Batman or Daredevil have finally unmasked to the world.
It also reflects the best of humanity. This is taken in the form of the survivors, their families, and other people supporting them, and advocating for justice, regardless of who and what they are up against.
They are some of the new role models for the 21st century; they are unrelenting in their crusade for the truth, and they are bringing all of the people involved with Epstein’s sex trafficking activities to justice. Because if we can’t, then what’s the point of retelling stories of good triumphing over evil, if we can’t make it a reality?
Maybe I’ve read far too many comic books and watched far too many movies, but I still have hope for us as a society that these people will not be able to hide and cover up their crimes, no matter who they are. Even though a lot of things still amaze me in this world, it’s staggering that releasing survivors’ names and redacting possible abusers’ names, somehow, in the eyes of the DOJ, is bringing justice to the matter, and not the other way around.
Again, just because someone’s name has appeared in the files does not mean they are guilty of anything; it’s the number of times they are mentioned that is worth our attention. Because of this, at the very least, these people whose names appear thousands of times, whether they were abusers or enablers, need to be investigated.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, formerly known as Prince Andrew, leaves Aylsham Police Station on a vehicle, on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after the U.S. Justice Department released more records tied to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in Aylsham, Britain, February 19, 2026. Photo: Phil Noble/Reuters
This web of corruption needs to be untangled, and this poses an interesting question: What if someone you have admired for years, for whatever reason, is directly linked to Epstein’s criminal activities? A few months ago, I saw a video with a woman on a panel with two other people, and she explained the reality of the situation. I can’t remember her exact words because I couldn’t find the clip again, but I’m going to paraphrase what she said, mixed with some of my own.
It shouldn’t matter whether we admire the people in the files or not, but the names of the abusers and enablers need to be released. Whether they are Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, actors, politicians, models, CEOs, scientists, musicians, writers, professors, or sports stars, it doesn’t matter; burn the whole house down. Release the names, or at the very least, law enforcement agencies around the world need to start doing something with the information, and to show people that these crimes will not go unpunished.
With the recent arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (Former Duke of York), it pays to wonder if his investigation will bring about more charges levelled against him, but also, will other abusers and enablers be taken down as well?
These horrible threads need to be followed, regardless of where they lead, whether to a CEO’s office or the Oval Office; this needs to happen, for the sake of our own collective morality. The world will never move on from the Epstein Files until every single abuser and enabler has been found, investigated, and if need be, prosecuted and convicted. Nothing, absolutely nothing short of this will be any closure to survivors and their families.
And after that wonderful and positive thought, I shall take my leave of you, amazing people. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, keep watching the T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup, and I’ll see you next week for some running. Cool bananas.
The historic project that skilled historians have written content about for decades has returned for 2026! Yeah, baby, Some Geek Told Me’s We Didn’t Start the Fire is back for its 14th entry. Sometimes I think about all of the various things I could have been doing, instead of writing about this, and I realise that it’s been totally worth it; much like not watching Melania.
If you’re new to this blog, then welcome! It’s always nice to have a new pair of eyes to gaze upon your weekly endeavour to make the world a better place, one badly written blog at a time. If you’re a veteran of this project, then be most welcome as well! You’ve been very patient with this project, but just in case you have skipped any of the previous entries, here they are:
For the last entry, we discussed 1960, so you don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes or Batman to deduce that this blog post will be breaking down the 1961 historical references in Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire. Get ready, because we’re going back to 1961! And with that, away we go!
Vintage original 1961 Omaha, Nebraska Advertising Calendar for Motor Machine & Supply. A Division of The Bauer Corporation. Photo: Avid Vintage
Hemingway
I’m sure at some point in your life, you have heard of Ernest Hemingway at least once. Hemingway was a writer and journalist who penned novels, such as The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Across the River and into the Trees, and The Old Man and the Sea, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953.
Hemingway was also a correspondent and covered the Greco-Turkish War, Spanish Civil War, Sino-Japanese War, and World War II, as well as volunteering as an ambulance driver in World War I. Throughout the 20th century, Hemingway was lauded by critics and readers, and his cult status has only grown over the years.
Now, I would love to say that Hemingway was mentioned in the song because of some amazing literary work, but sadly, that’s not the case. On 2nd July 1961, aged 61 years old, Ernest Hemingway killed himself at his home in Ketchum, Idaho. His death sent shockwaves around the world, impacting various parts of society.
For a modern example, many celebrities have committed suicide over the last 20-30 years. Still, for a famous writer to have died by their own hand, the most relevant example is Hunter S. Thompson, author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Curse of Lono, and The Rum Diary, who killed himself on 20th February 2005.
LIFE Magazine Cover: 14th July 1961. Credit: LIFE Magazine
Eichmann
Given the rise of far-right parties and policies around the world, it is poignant to discuss Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann was a member of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or in English, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. If those two names don’t register a response, you may know the party by its informal name: The Nazi Party.
Yes, Eichmann was not only a Nazi, but he was an SS (Schutzstaffel) officer and one of the architects of the Holocaust. After the end of the Second World War, Eichmann fled to Argentina in 1950, since he was implicated during the Nuremberg trials. Because of Argentina’s history of rejecting extradition, Mossad agents captured Eichmann in 1960, and he was taken to Israel to stand trial.
His trial, which became known as the Eichmann Trial, lasted from 11th April to 15th August 1961, where Eichmann faced 15 charges under Israel’s Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law. He was convicted of 12 charges, but he was only partially convicted of the other three. Eichmann was sentenced to death via hanging, which was carried out on 1st June 1962.
You can be the judge whether it’s a positive or negative thing, but for a contemporary equivalent, we have a large selection of war criminals to choose from. This includes Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, Charles Taylor, Radovan Karadžić, Nuon Chea, Théoneste Bagosora, and so many more.
Adolf Eichmann at his trial in Jerusalem (1961). Credit: Public Domain
Stranger in a Strange Land
This is the first and last book reference for 1961s time in the sunshine. Written by Robert A. Heinlein and released in, surprise, surprise, 1961, Stranger in a Strange Land was famous throughout the United States and around the world. This science fiction book was about a human who was discovered on Mars and was taken back to Earth, along with the implications.
Stranger in a Strange Land divided critics and fans because of the taboo topics like religion, culture, free love, misogyny, rape, and other topics. Heinlein later explained that the book aimed to expose hypocrisy and to challenge societal norms. The book was very controversial at the time, but it also introduced terms like grok and waterbed into the lexicon.
The legacy of Stranger in a Strange Land can be seen in various media like The Ministry for the Future, The Sparrow, and The Expanse, though maybe you could think of better examples.
Dust jacket of the first edition of Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. Credit: Wikipedia
Dylan
Dylan refers to Bob Dylan, the great American singer-songwriter. A few events happened to Dylan in 1961, with the first being that he had already been performing for a couple of years before he moved from Minnesota to New York in January 1961 to pursue his musical career.
Dylan managed to meet Woody Guthrie, his musical idol, as well as playing at venues around Greenwich Village, which helped him make a name for himself. This led him to feature on one of Carolyn Hester’s albums, and as the story goes, his work on the album attracted the attention of John Hammond.
Hammond was the album’s producer, and on 26th October 1961, he signed the 20-year-old Dylan to Columbia Records. This was Dylan’s first contract, and his debut album, Bob Dylan, was produced for about $400. The album sold about 5,000 copies, with Dylan on his way to stardom and a long-time relationship with Columbia Records.
For a modern example of Bob Dylan’s historical signing, I don’t have an answer. I mean, do I present someone like Bob Dylan, who signed their first contract 30-40 years ago, and they are now a household name? Or could it be someone signed their first contract only five years ago, and they are on their way to stardom? You be the judge, unless you can provide some examples of your own.
Bob Dylan performs at New York City’s the Bitter End, 1961. Credit: Sigmund Goode/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty
Berlin
Back in 1961, Germany was divided into two countries after World War II: West Germany and East Germany. At the time, the Cold War was also in effect, with Western Europe and NATO on one side, and the Soviet Union and the Chinese bloc on the other side. West vs East, Blue vs Red, Capitalism vs Communism, with West Germany and East Germany as a site for that proxy war.
Berlin was in East Germany, but the city was split into three Western sectors (American, British, French) and one Eastern sector (Soviet). Thus, we had West Berlin and East Berlin. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was backed by Western countries, while the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was backed by the Eastern (Communist) bloc.1
And for me personally, there was no other symbol that represented the Cold War more than the real Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall.
East Germany started construction on the Berlin Wall on 13th August 1961, and it was infamous. It was a 155 km concrete barrier that surrounded West Berlin, which was lined with anti-vehicle trenches, bunkers, watch towers, and guards. It also served as a de facto border between the two countries, covering 111.9 km along the border.
The function of the Berlin Wall was to stem the flow of people from the East to the West. Records show about 140 people were killed crossing or attempting to cross the wall, though this number is not a true reflection of the human cost. The legacy of the Berlin Wall was that it lasted for 28 years, until after communism in Central and Eastern Europe fell.
During the Peaceful Revolution, on 9th November 1989, sections of the Berlin Wall fell, allowing unimpeded migration from East Germany to West Germany, and vice versa. The Fall of the Berlin Wall was a watershed for world history and paved the way for the reunification of Germany on 3rd October 1990.
Building the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961. Overnight families and friends were divided. Photo: Bundesregierung/Lehnartz
Bay of Pigs Invasion
And speaking of the Cold War, let’s discuss Cuba. Do you remember the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, from the 1959 blog post? Well, I gave a spoiler that he would return, and he’s back! Castro and his mates had transformed Cuba into the first communist country in the Western Hemisphere, but more importantly, Cuba was only a stone’s throw from the United States.
Since the Cold War was trending at the time, the United States did not like having a communist country so close to its shores. Relations with Castro had soured, and with Cuba building stronger ties with the Soviet Union, but also the injustices that were happening in the country, the U.S. government decided to overthrow Castro.
This, of course, led to the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Backed by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and the C.I.A, ex-Cuban exiles (mainly the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front, and Brigade 2506) were trained to invade Cuba and oust Castro from power. On 17th April 1961, after bombing some Cuban airbases, the invasion was launched at several sites.
The main invading site was the Bay of Pigs, or Bahía de Cochinos, which is located on the south-central coast. The invasion lasted for a few days before they needed to retreat and evacuate. The American-backed Cubans were under-resourced and ill-prepared, as well as being outnumbered and outmanoeuvred by Castro’s forces. It was a humiliating and humbling experience for the U.S. government, as the invasion failed spectacularly in front of the international community.
Operation Gideon in 2020 (the Failed Coup in Venezuela) and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022 were the two best/worst examples of a failed invasion in the 21st century, where the objective was to overthrow a foreign government, or at least, to capture the leader of another country. Yes, technically Russia have not lost, but it’s been nearly four years, and they are no closer to winning.
U.S.-backed Cuban exiles captured during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Cuba, 1961. Credit: Sovfoto/Universal Images Group/Shutterstock.com
So for 1961, we covered a writer’s death, a war criminal’s trial, a book, a musician, a wall, and a failed invasion. Like all of the years discussed in the song, their events and legacies are still with us today in 2026. Will 1962 be busier or crazier? Tune in next month, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
That brings another wonderful blog post to a close. Wait, I don’t think anybody has described this blog as wonderful! Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. If you’re looking for new social media to follow, then I would recommend my Twitter and Mastodon accounts, pretty please.
Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go and talk to a five-year-old, and if you ever repeat any of the information I write about, and someone asks you where you discovered it, just say, ‘Some Geek Told Me.‘ I’ll see you next week, and look after yourself.
1 We have briefly discussed the“Communist Bloc” in East Germany, with the We Didn’t Start the Fire: 1953 blog post, featuring that historical reference. Please read it for more details, I dare you!
So, you’ve returned for the sequel? Can’t say that I blame you, because this blog is as addictive as a tub of Cookies and Cream ice cream on a hot day. Seriously, I’m glad you have popped in for the full story. Imagine watching only Kill Bill Vol. 1 and not Kill Bill Vol. 2?
Let’s recap: last week on Some Geek Told Me, Raúl was confronted with the reality that his identical twin brother Carlos had been secretly taking over his life. This included his job, children, and his wife, Isabel. Heartbroken, yet also full of rage… wait. This is the wrong story, sorry.
Last week, we discussed the history of the Six Nations Rugby Championship, which, as you will recall, comes in three different versions: Men’s, Women’s and Under-20s. It also falls to me to remind you that the Six Nations Championship is made up of not three, four, or even five different countries.
No, believe it or not, but the Six Nations Championship has six different countries competing in three different tournaments. These countries, once again, are England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Italy.
I know you can’t wait for the second part of the blog, which is going to discuss the different trophies involved in the Six Nations Championships. The excitement for this is genuine for me, dear reader. Therefore, I shall delay you no longer! Let us begin with The Six Nations Rugby Championship: The Trophies!
Credit: Ball Carrier
For this rant, we are going to start in reverse order, which means we will begin with the Six Nations U-20s Championship. I know I’m delaying the transfer of this exciting information, and I’m sorry, but there are three terms that are going to come up across the tournaments that I need to explain.
Triple Crown: This trophy/title is played for between the Home Nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It is only awarded to the team that defeats all three of the other Home Nation teams.
Grand Slam: This title is awarded to the team that beats all of the other five teams; basically, it goes to the team that is undefeated at the end of the tournament.
Wooden Spoon: This honour is given to the team that finishes last on the table. It’s an award you don’t want to win.
The Six Nations Under 20s ChampionshipTrophies
The Six Nations Under-20s Championship Trophy
This trophy is awarded to the team that has the greatest total of points on the table by the end of the fifth and final round of the tournament; effectively, the winners of the championship. France won this trophy in 2025.
The Six Nations Under-20s Championship Trophy. Credit: Guinness Six Nations
The Six Nations Under-20s Championship Triple Crown
To my best understanding, the Six Nations Under-20s Championship Triple Crown is not a physical trophy, but rather a title. It’s played for every year, but it’s not always given out. The last time the Triple Crown was awarded was in 2023 to Ireland, for defeating the other Home Nations of England, Wales, and Scotland.
The Six Nations Under-20s Championship Grand Slam
Like the previous entry, and as far as I can tell, the Six Nations Under-20s Championship Grand Slam is not a physical trophy, but a title. The Grand Slam was last won in 2023, when Ireland defeated all of the other five teams.
I have researched this, but it appears there are no rivalry trophies in this tournament. If I’m wrong, please let me know.
The Women’s Six Nations ChampionshipTrophies
The Women’s Six Nations Championship Trophy
In 2023, a new Women’s Six Nations Championship trophy was unveiled, replacing the old one. This silver trophy is 63.5 cm tall and has a 24-carat gold plate. The winner of the tournament, the team with the most points on the table, at the end of the fifth and final round, is awarded this trophy. It also has the engraved logos of the six competing teams. The defending champions are England, having won the trophy for the last seven years.
The Women’s Six Nations Championship Trophy. Credit: Thomas Lyte.
The Women’s Six Nations Championship Triple Crown
Similar to what I’ve previously said, I believe that the Women’s Six Nations Championship Triple Crown is a title, rather than a physical trophy. However, England has won this title for the last nine out of ten years, the last being in 2025. The 2021 tournament was altered because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The Women’s Six Nations Championship Grand Slam
It’s important to note that England are the reigning world champions, and it will come as no surprise that this team has also won the Grand Slam title in 2025, as well as in 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, and 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented them from achieving the Grand Slam in 2021.
The Women’s Six Nations Championship Wooden Spoon
This is the first Wooden Spoon we have discussed, as it’s a non-award, and not an actual wooden spoon; though that would be amazing! Currently, Wales has been awarded the Wooden Spoon for finishing last in 2024 and 2025.
The Solidarity/SolidaritéTrophy: Ireland vs France
Information surrounding this is very sparse, but to my understanding, there is only one rivalry trophy in the Women’s Six Nations Championship, but again, I could be wrong.
The Solidarity Trophy is brand new for the Women’s Six Nations Championship, as it was introduced in 2026; so it has not been played for in the women’s tournament. The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the French Federation of Rugby (FFR) only revealed this trophy to the public last week.
There are two identical trophies, one for the women’s tournament and one for the men’s, to be competed for between Ireland and France. The trophies,” affirms equal status for both competitions and strengthens the symbolic impact of this joint initiative,” but also highlight the unique relationship and mutual respect between the two countries. The women’s game between Ireland and France is set for 25th April 2026 at Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
The Solidarity Trophy: Six Nations Rugby
The Men’s Six Nations ChampionshipTrophies
The Men’s Six Nations Championship Trophy
The current Men’s Six Nations Championship Trophy was introduced in 2015, after the older one was retired. The trophy is made of sterling silver, weighs 7 kg, is 75 cm in height, and has 24-carat gold plating. This trophy also has six sides, representing the six countries that compete in the tournament.
As you would expect, the trophy is awarded to the team with the highest amount of points on the table, after the fifth and final round. France is the current holder of this trophy, having won it in 2025.
The Men’s Six Nations Championship Trophy. Credit: Guinness Six Nations.
The Men’s Six Nations Championship Triple Crown
Winning the Men’s Six Nations Championship Triple Crown comes with a title, but also a trophy. The Home Nations have been fighting for this honour since its inception in 1883, but it wasn’t until 2006 that a trophy was introduced. The trophy is more like a plate or a shield, which is made of sterling silver, has a width of 42 cm, a depth of 5 cm, and weighs 3 kg.
The Triple Crown Trophy has four different symbols that represent the four Home Nations of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland: a rose, the Prince of Wales feathers, a thistle, and a shamrock. In 2025, the Triple Crown was won by Ireland, who had previously won it in 2023 and 2022. No team won the Triple Crown in 2024.
The Men’s Six Nations Championship Triple Crown. Credit: Getty Images
The Men’s Six Nations Championship Grand Slam
Like the U-20s and the Women’s tournaments, the Grand Slam in the Men’s Six Nations Championship is an honorary title. Achieving the Grand Slam is extremely difficult because you need to defeat the five other teams, which is why nobody has done so since Ireland in 2023.
The Men’s Six Nations Championship Wooden Spoon
The Wooden Spoon award was first introduced during the Home Nations Championship, but since the start of the Six Nations Championship, which was renamed in 2000, four of the six teams have claimed it. Sadly, like the Welsh Women’s team, the Men’s Welsh team have been awarded the Wooden Spoon for 2024 and 2025.
The Men’s Six Nation Championship Rivalry Trophies
Apart from the Championship Trophy and the Triple Crown, and not including the honorary titles of the Grand Slam and the Wooden Spoon, there are an additional eight trophies that are competed for during the Men’s Six Nations Championship. However, not every team can compete for every trophy, because they are known as rivalry trophies. In the case of a draw, the holders of the trophy retain it.
The Calcutta Cup: England vs Scotland
Let’s start with the oldest and most famous of the rivalry trophies, the Calcutta Cup. This trophy was first introduced in 1879, making it the planet’s oldest international rugby trophy. If I understand the story correctly, the Calcutta Rugby Football Club was formed in Calcutta, at the time, in British India.
This was after a rugby game was played in Calcutta in 1872, involving 40 players, which equals 20 players per side, whereas today, it’s only 15 players per side, not counting the reserves. One team represented Scotland, while the other represented England.
A few years later, the club’s membership was decreasing, so the members did something radical. They withdrew the club’s funds, melted the money down, and formed a trophy. This trophy was presented to the English Rugby Football Union and was named the Calcutta Cup. Because of this, only England and Scotland compete for this trophy, and the winner of the fixture is awarded it. The 2025 winners of the Calcutta Cup were England.
The Calcutta Cup. Credit: Raeburn Foundation.
The Millennium Trophy: England vs Ireland
The Millennium Trophy has the shape of a horned Viking helmet, though historical evidence suggests that Viking warriors did not wear horned helmets in battle. The trophy was introduced in 1988 to commemorate two key events, which were to mark Dublin’s millennial celebrations, as well as the 100th game between England and Ireland.
The winner of the 100th fixture between the two nations, England, was presented with the trophy, which was intended to be a one-off prize, but soon became an annual trophy for the winner of the English and Irish game. Ireland is currently the defending champion of the Millennium Trophy, having won it in 2025.
The Millennium Trophy. Credit: Six Nations Rugby/Getty Images.
The Centenary Quaich: Ireland vs Scotland
Let’s start with what a quaich actually is. Pronounced as “kway-kh“, a quaich is a Gaelic drinking vessel which has two handles, so you can share the drink with someone. In 1989, the Centenary Quaich was introduced to mark the 100th anniversary of the International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby), but also, if my research is accurate, it was also to mark the 100th fixture between Ireland and Scotland.
Additionally, the Centenary Quaich represents the cultural bond between Ireland and Scotland. This trophy is competed for annually between Ireland and Scotland during the Men’s Six Nations Championship, with Ireland being the current holders of the Centenary Quaich since 2018.
The Centenary Quaich. Credit: Guinness Six Nations
The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy: France vs Italy
France and Italy slug it out for a separate trophy, called the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy. It was introduced in 2007 to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was a figure in both Italian politics and French military history, so the French and Italian Rugby Unions commissioned a trophy to acknowledge Garibaldi’s contributions to both countries, as well as the rugby bond between them.
The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy is awarded to the winner of the French and Italian game during the Men’s Six Nations Championship, with France being the defending champion, having held the trophy since 2014. In 2024, the game resulted in a 13-all draw, so France retained the trophy.
The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy. Credit: Six Nations Rugby.
The Auld Alliance Trophy: France vs Scotland
The Auld Alliance Trophy was first awarded in 2018, and it is played for annually during the Men’s Six Nations Championship between France and Scotland. The trophy is named after the 1295 alliance between France and Scotland, which at the time were both kingdoms.
The term “Auld Alliance” means “Old Alliance” in Scots. In addition to this, the trophy represents two things: the first is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, and the second is dedicated to the memory of the war dead from the rugby communities of France and Scotland.
The trophy especially highlights the memories of Eric Milroy from Scotland and Marcel Burgun from France, as they were the two captains of both teams involved in the last game between Scotland and France, before the outbreak of the First World War. Sadly, both Milroy and Burgun were killed in France in 1916, 46 days apart from each other. France has held the Auld Alliance Trophy since 2022.
The Auld Alliance Trophy. Credit: Six Nations Rugby.
The Doddie Weir Cup: Scotland vs Wales
Presently, the Doddie Weir Cup is the only rivalry trophy available for Wales to play for. Named after George “Doddie” Weir, who had played for Scotland and the British Lions. He was 1.98 m tall, so naturally he was a lock and had a long rugby career. He retired from rugby in 2005, but in 2016, Weir was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND).
Because of this, Weir spearheaded fundraising for his foundation called “My Name’5 Doddie” and raised £8 million for research into MND, as well as funding treatments. He did this by campaigning for greater public awareness of the disease. Weir died in 2022 from the disease.
In 2018, the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union introduced the Doddie Weir Cup to support Weir’s foundation. Scotland and Wales compete for this trophy during the championship, and the winner of that encounter takes the trophy home. Scotland has won the Doddie Weir Cup for the last three years.
The Doddie Weir Cup. Credit: Guinness Six Nations.
TheCuttitta Cup: Scotland vs Italy
This is the third rivalry trophy that’s named after a person. Massimo Cuttitta was a former Italian rugby player who was involved in Italy’s inaugural entry in the newly minted Six Nations in 2000. He captained Italy 22 times, and after retiring, Cuttitta moved into coaching, taking on several jobs.
Eventually, Cuttitta went to Scotland and worked for Edinburgh Rugby as a scrum coach, but also for the Scottish national team from 2009 to 2015 as their scrum coach. Cuttitta died in 2021 from COVID-19.
In 2022, the Cuttitta Cup was introduced to honour Cuttitta’s contributions to rugby in Italy and Scotland. The winner of the annual game between Scotland and Italy during the Men’s Six Nations Championship is awarded the Cuttitta Cup. In 2025, Scotland won the trophy back from Italy, however on 7th February 2026, Italy defeated Scotland in Rome, 18-15, to win the Cuttitta Cup for the third time.
The Cuttitta Cup. Credit: World Rugby.
The Solidarity/SolidaritéTrophy: Ireland vs France
As I mentioned previously, the Solidarity Trophy was only unveiled last week, so it’s freshly minted. All of the information for the women’s entry is the same for the men’s; both Women’s and Men’s Solidarity Trophies are identical, they are brand new, and the winner of each Irish and French game in each annual tournament, both female and male, will win the trophy.
The only difference is that the women’s game has not yet been played, but the men’s has. On Thursday, 5th February 2026, the opening night of the Men’s Six Nations Championship, which was a first for a Thursday night, Ireland played France at the Stade de France, with France defeating Ireland, 36-14, thus becoming the inaugural winners of the Men’s Solidarity Trophy.
Victorious French captain, Antoine Dupont holds the Solidarity Trophy, after France defeated Ireland, 36-14, 5th February 2026. Credit: Guinness Six Nations
If the information is to be believed, in addition to the Solidarity Trophy having been introduced this year, two more trophies will be announced this year or next year. Apparently, there will be a trophy to be contested for Wales vs England, and Wales vs Ireland. That should give Welsh supporters something to smile about.
Another interesting point is that Scotland is the only team in the Men’s Six Nations Championship to have a rivalry trophy with every other team. This means that if Scotland ever won all five games in the championship, they would win seven trophies: The Championship Trophy, the Triple Crown, the Calcutta Cup, the Centenary Quaich, the Auld Alliance Trophy, the Doddie Weir Cup, and the Cuttitta Cup, along with the Grand Slam title. Perhaps 2026 will be their year; who knows? 1
Well, that’s it for another week. The first round of the Men’s Six Nations Championship has been and gone, with France beating Ireland (36-14), Italy defeating Scotland (18-15), and England victorious over Wales (48-7). I know it’s not for everybody, but the Six Nations Championship is fantastic, and like I said last week, if you ever get the chance to watch a game, do yourself a favour and watch one.
Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch some ICC Men’s T20 World Cup matches, and I’ll see you next week for some time travel. You know what that means; 1961, here we come!
1 Even though Scotland did just lose the Cuttitta Cup to Italy on Saturday.
Before I conjure up some more literary magic, I would like to take a fraction of your time to acknowledge some deaths.
1.) Over 30,000 Iranian civilians and anti-government demonstrators have been killed by the Iranian Republic Security Forces since December 2025, in what can only be described as massacres.
2.) Legendary comic book artist, Sal Buscema, died on 23rd January 2026, aged 89. He worked for multiple companies across his long career, having created fantastic characters like Rebecca and Brian Banner, Lady Deathstrike, Grandmaster, The Invaders, Hyperion, Helmut Zemo, U-Foes, Time Variance Authority, Rom the Space Knight, and the Wrecking Crew, among many others.
3.) The recent storm that hit the North Island of New Zealand has resulted in the deaths of nine people, through flash flooding and two landslides.
4.) The beloved actress and comedian Catherine O’Hara passed away on January 30, 2026. Among her many famous roles, my personal favourite was Cookie Fleck in Best In Show. O’Hara had the knack of making any character, especially the unlikable ones, very likeable.
I don’t have any inspiring things to say, other than my family and I are very sorry to hear of their deaths, and to send our condolences and deepest sympathies to their loved ones.
In New Zealand, both national and regional governments have numerous questions that require answers from the media, the public, and grieving families.
My thanks and apologies for bringing this up.
Moving on, I wrote another non-award-winning blog post last week regarding rugby, American football’s older and hotter sibling. I mentioned that I was going to discuss the greatest rugby tournament outside of the World Cup: The Six Nations Championship. I aim to provide my followers with things they didn’t request, except for the three followers this is written for. They know who they are.
So, like Fozzie and Kermit, we need to keep movin’ right along into The Six Nations Rugby Championship: The History. For all my non-rugby supporters, I’m sorry/not sorry. Prepare thyself!
Credit: Guinness Six Nations/Love Belfast
Every year, a fantastic rugby tournament begins that runs from February to April. It’s called the Six Nations Championship, or the Guinness Six Nations Championship, and it comes in three different flavours, Men’s, Women’s and Under-20s.
The Six Nations, as the tournament is commonly known, involves, get ready for it, six nations that are England, Wales, Scotland, France, Italy, and Ireland1. It’s one of the world’s oldest international tournaments.
Once again, I need to interject myself into something that I am actually writing. Since I’m an All Blacks supporter, it may have crossed your wonderful mind as to why I’m writing about the Six Nations. That is another superb question from you, you’re getting so good at this! I’ll do my best to give an over-complicated answer; nothing but the best on Some Geek Told Me.
The All Blacks compete in an annual tournament with three other countries (The Rugby Championship), but before that, it was with only two other countries (The Tri-Nations), which first started in 1996. I love watching and supporting the Rugby Championship, but it pales in comparison to the Six Nations.
Credit: Guinness Six Nations
For me, the Six Nations is the greatest rugby tournament outside of a World Cup, and this is coming from a New Zealander! As a kid, I was enthralled by learning about the tournament, which was called the Five Nations. Obviously, watching delayed coverage, or at the very least, highlights of the games from the other side of the planet, gave me a taste of how other countries played and managed rugby.
It was always interesting to see rugby from a different perspective, which included the size of the stadiums, the singing, respecting the kicker, the age and tradition of the tournament, as well as the rivalries. I soon discovered my love of the All Blacks also transferred into being curious about what our opponents were doing.
As time marched on, my fascination with the tournament became more defined, because as an All Blacks and Black Ferns supporter, following the Six Nations was logical; if your rivals smashed each other up in an annual competition, wouldn’t it be prudent to gauge how they are performing and to see what they’re up to?
Even now, as a fully-grown man-child, watching the Six Nations makes me ask two questions: Who do I want to win? or Who do I want to lose? It also poses more questions if one particular team is performing well: Could the All Blacks beat them in their current form? but also, If the Black Ferns played them next week, who would win? I love the Six Nations.
I’ve finished my interjection, so we’ll return to the spot where we left off. Thanks.
The tournament has a long, rich and proud history, so I’ll do my best to explain it properly. When discussing the Men’s tournament, it first began in 1883, when it was known as the Home Nations Championship2; which included England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. A few years later, an argument about whether a try should have been awarded resulted in the nations establishing the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby.
From what I understand, England was not happy that Wales, Scotland, and Ireland had formed a new club, and they refused to join. This hilarious incident meant that England was excluded from the tournament from 1888 to 1889, which in turn meant the tournament did not take place. However, by 1890, everything was worked out, and the tournament had restarted.
The format for the Hone Nations continued until 1910, when France was allowed to join the tournament. As you can guess, with an extra nation in the mix, management decided to change the name of the competition to the Five Nations Championship, because, you know, five nations were playing.
The First and Second World Wars meant that fielding international-level rugby players was a little difficult, along with the country being at war, so from 1915-1919 and 1940-1946, the tournament was not played. It’s worth noting that in 1932, France was banned from the competition because of rumours and allegations of various misconduct3 and they were only allowed to rejoin in 1939, but the Second World War prevented them from physically returning until 1947.
From 1947, the Five Nations Championship marched on until 1999, because Italy was now asking to join the tournament. They were accepted, so in 2000, the Five Nations Championship was renamed again, thus becoming the Six Nations Championship, with the addition of Italy. France is the defending champion.
The 2025 Guinness Women’s Six Nations launch in London. Credit: Guinness Six Nations
The Women’s tournament followed the same trajectory as the Men’s, but the time period is smaller. The tournament started in 1996, which was named the Women’s Home Nations Championship, which included exactly the teams as you would imagine: England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
In its format, the tournament lasted three years, until in 1999, you guessed it, France was added to the tournament, changing the name to the Women’s Five Nations Championship. And because history likes to repeat things, this version of the competition lasted only three years, before Italy was introduced into the tournament in 2002, turning the Women’s Five Nations Championship into the Women’s Six Nations Championship. Bet you all of Trump’s orange makeup that you didn’t see that one coming. England won the tournament in 2025.
It is also interesting to note, that Spain played in the Five Nations and Six Nations tournaments from 2000 to 2006.
As for the Under-20s tournament, they started in 2004, but it was called the Six Nations Under 21s Championship, and this lasted until 2008, when they changed the age restriction, which allowed another tournament to have yet another name change. So, the Six Nations Under 21s Championship became the Six Nations Under 20s Championship. Nothing to see here, move along, move along. However, like the Men’s competition, France is the current holder of the title.
In the tournament, each team plays five games, alternating between home and away matches. The following year, the home advantage is reversed for each matchup. For example, the Men’s game between England and Scotland in 2025 took place in England, but in 2026, the England vs. Scotland game will be held in Scotland.
Just because I can, I’m going to list the stadiums that are used in the competition4:
England: Twickenham, London, seats 82,000
Wales: Principality Stadium, Cardiff seats 73,930
Scotland: Murrayfield, Edinburgh, seats 67,140
Ireland: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, seats 51,700
France: Stade de France, Paris, seats 81,330
Italy: Stadio Olimpico, Rome, seats 72,690
The points system for the Six Nations is standard, but with a few quirks:
A win gives a team 4 points. (Yay!)
A draw gives a team 2 points. (Oh, stink!)
A loss gives a team 0 points. (Oh, the shame!)
There are also bonus points to be awarded, which come in handy if teams have the same win/loss records.
Scoring four or more tries in a match, gives a team 1 extra point. (Yay again!)
Losing by 7 points or fewer, gives a team 1 extra point. (Sweet!)
If a team wins all of their games, which is called the Grand Slam, they are automatically given 3 extra points.
At the end of the fifth round, the team with the highest total on the points table wins the championship.
Many trophies are competed for during the different tournaments, which, ironically, is exactly what we will be discussing next week with The Six Nations Rugby Championship: Part 2. Cool bananas!
In my humble opinion, the Six Nations Championship is arguably one of the greatest annual sporting events on the planet, and if you ever get the chance to watch a game, do yourself a favour and do it.
Well, that’s it for another week. Do you follow the Six Nations? What’s your favourite moment? Who will win in 2026? As always, please let me know.
Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, remember where you put your keys, and I’ll see you next week for the second and final blog post about the Six Nations Rugby Championship. The excitement is building!
1When discussing Ireland, I am not referring to the Republic of Ireland, but the actual island of Ireland, which consists of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. At the international level, rugby is one of the few sports that represents all of Ireland, unlike football, which has Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland teams. This is reinforced with the cross-border flag for the Irish Rugby Football Union, which incorporates both countries, the Republic of Ireland (controlled by the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland (controlled by the United Kingdom).
2 When discussing the Home Nations in rugby, it is in reference to England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, collectively known as the Home Nations.
3 France was accused of many things, but the main offence was fielding professional players, when at the time, rugby was an amateur sport. Rugby finally went professional in 1995.
4 France also has a second stadium that they sometimes use for the tournament. It’s the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, in Northern France. Its capacity is 50,180.
SOME GEEK TOLD ME 
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