Interesting Facts

Thamsanqa Jantjie, a sign language interpreter in South Africa has been branded a fraud by members of South Africa's deaf community. (Around the world deaf people started tweeting about what the man was doing, with Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, the first deaf woman to be elected to the South African parliament tweeting: "ANC-linked interpreter on the stage with dep president of ANC is signing rubbish. He cannot sign. Please get him off." And others said it amounted to little more than "flapping his arms around." What a shame that this happened during a memorial ceremony for a great man. !Update - He now says he suffers from schizophrenia and was suffering an episode during the speech making.)

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, never phoned his wife or mother because they were deaf. (Unfortunately he was also connected with the eugenics movement in the United States. Teacher of the deaf, inventor of the telephone, and promoter of eugenics. I wonder what he'd prefer to be remembered for.)