Boris Johnson to enter the Big Brother Household, Susan Boyle to win a Grammy—we’ve all heard a few strange, tongue-in-cheek bets suggested by bookmakers throughout the years.

Believe it or not, there are actually people who make these weird and wacky wagers for big money. History has shown us that people love to gamble their money in the most unusual ways, from US bettors gambling on chinese ping-pong matches to people betting on the weather.

Betting that everything will stay the same

Yes, you read that right.

Back in 1989 a man from Wales popped into his local Ladbrokes bookmaker and placed a wager on four things remaining the same until the year 2000 and one other event happening.

His predictions?

That the TV shows Eastenders, Neighbours, and Home and Away would still be on the air.

He also gambled on U2 still being together and performing.

He predicted that Cliff Richard would land himself a knighthood.

Ladbrokes gave him odds of 6,479/1 on a £30 bet and 11 years later he picked up his winnings of £194,000.

Brilliant.

The man who literally went all-in

When a player goes all-in we’re usually talking about their chips or perhaps even a nice watch and some jewelry. Not so in the case of one Ashley Revell, who in 2004, sold every single item that he owned to fund a trip to Las Vegas.

Revell, who was being filmed at the time for a reality TV show called ‘Double of Nothing’, took his £77,000 and headed to the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He then placed all of the money on a single bet at the roulette table.

Luckily for him, he won and doubled his money. Talk about nerves of steel.

Long range wager

While most online betting sites will offer you straightforward odds on regular bets like the first team to score, in 2006, one punter had another type of wager in mind. Adrian Hayward thought that there was a good chance that Liverpool midfielder Alonso would score from inside his own half at some point in the 2005/2006 season.

He managed to get himself odds of 250/1 and so decided to place £200.

Just a few months later, during Liverpool’s 5-3 FA Cup 3rd Round tie with Luton, Alonso duly obliged and scored from his own half. Hayward won £25,000 and bragging rights for the next decade or so. Incredibly, Alonso went on to score another sensational goal from inside his own half against Newcastle in September of 2006.

Gambler who didn’t even like football

Back in 2017, a woman from Leysdown-On-Sea decided that she’d had enough of listening to her husband and son’s non-stop football chat. She wanted to prove that anyone could predict the results of a football match and so decided to do a 12-team accumulator.

Apparently, she chose the teams based on whether or not she liked the sound of them as her son read them out. Yep, you can guess where this is going. She somehow managed to get all 12 results right and for a £1 stake, she took home £574,278.

Not a bad morning’s work there.

An eye for talent

In 1998, Richard Hopkins took his son Evan, who was 13 at the time, to race go-karts. He watched another young driver in the race and was so impressed by his skills that he joked about putting a bet on him winning an F1 race in the future.

He had a think about it and decided to go for it. He placed £200 on the boy to win an F1 race by the time he was 23 at odds of 200/1. He then placed a £100 bet that the boy would be a world champion by 25 at odds of 500/1 and a third £50 wager at odds of 1,500/1 that he would achieve both goals.

The boy was none other than Lewis Hamilton, and when he won his first World Championship at age 23, Hopkins collected over £165,000 in winnings.

Rustic and effortless outdoor design is extremely popular right now, and this style could give your garden that much sought-after relaxed and lived-in feel.

Focusing on natural, rustic elements and handcrafted decorations in garden design can also be much more eco-friendly and sustainable, which is extremely desirable at the moment due to climate change.

If you love crafts and design and are keen to revitalise your garden with a new rustic style, read on to discover some simple design ideas for your outdoor space.

Rustic lighting

Lighting is an important yet often overlooked feature of garden design. If you love entertaining guests in your garden, lighting is essential for both illuminating the space and creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Creating your own paper lanterns could be a great idea if you’re looking to evoke a rustic and relaxed feel in your garden, but if you want something a bit more sturdy, you could always reclaim old metal lanterns or, if you’d like to buy new lights, you could go for festoon lighting.

Festoon lights are a simple and classic design that will last a very long time and create a cosy atmosphere, and for example, this extendable festoon string lights can be hung anywhere in your garden as long as the lights are connected to a power source and held up by attachment points on furniture or walls.

Plant pots

If you want your garden to look as natural as possible, then having an abundance of plants is an easy way to achieve this. As well as planting seeds in flower beds, you could also start by placing plant pots around your garden to bring nature to every part of the space. For the pots themselves, reclaiming old jars to use as plant pots is a great way to be sustainable and reuse old items, and you could also paint new designs on your plant pots to get creative.

Reclaimed furniture

In addition to reclaiming jars and pots to hold plants, you could also reclaim other items such as old garden statues and wooden furniture. A new coat of paint could be all that is required to breathe new life into these objects, and even better, a slightly weathered look may be just perfect for achieving that rustic and simple appearance. Overall, reclaimed furniture both enhances the laid-back style of your garden and is a more sustainable option than buying brand new items.

Sheds

What can be more rustic than a simple garden shed? A garden shed can complete the overall aesthetic of your garden whilst also providing a perfect place for storage or a quiet place to retreat to. Building your own garden shed would be an ambitious yet rewarding DIY task, and as with the reclaimed furniture, an imperfect and weathered-looking coat of paint would only enhance the rustic and laid-back feel that you’re aiming for. This would be perfect for someone who loves DIY projects and would greatly appreciate their own private garden space.

With these helpful ideas, creating the garden of your dreams will be easier than ever, and you won’t have to compromise on sustainability to achieve the atmosphere you want.

Looking to make great coffee? Here are some great tips to do so.

1. Use fresh, whole bean coffee

If you want to make the best, most flavorful cup of coffee, the trick is to use fresh coffee and ensure you grind it before brewing. In essence, the secret to making coffee that tastes delicious and smells amazing is the aromatic compound found in roasted coffee beans.

It is worth mentioning that once you roast your coffee beans, the degassing process begins. Degassing is the process when aromatic compounds start escaping from the coffee beans, taking most of their flavor as they escape. 70% of these compounds are usually gone by the eighth day, and the coffee loses more of its flavor over time. As a result, you will only have stale coffee left.

This process will occur even faster when you grind coffee since more of the bean’s surface area is exposed. This makes it is easier for the compounds to escape faster. Fortunately, you still have a chance to make coffee that tastes and smells delicious. You could sign up for a coffee beans subscription service and enjoy getting freshly roasted coffee delivered to your home.

2. Use a scale

Another tip to making great coffee is using a scale. There are different types of coffee, so when you use a scale, it allows you to measure your coffee by weight instead of volume. Therefore, you will know just how much coffee you are adding into your cup regardless of the type of coffee you are using.

Often, people use the standard rule of making coffee, where they add two tablespoons of coffee to 6oz of water. There is nothing wrong with this rule/recipe or any other recipes for that matter, but they are not entirely practical. These recipes lack the precision that will allow you to brew great coffee.

There are different coffee types, and blends often tend to have a considerable difference between density and size. Therefore, a tablespoon of one kind of coffee may be way more or less than a tablespoon of a different coffee. So, it is best to use a scale to get the amount of coffee you are using right.

3. Use the correct amount of coffee

While coffee recipes may vary from individual to individual, one thing is constant. How weak or strong the coffee you brew is relative to how much water and coffee you use for your brew. The less coffee you use, the weaker the brew, and the more coffee you use, the stronger the cup you brew. But how will you know how much coffee you need to use?

Well, the best approach is using ratios. So, it has to be a ratio between the amount of coffee and water you are using. For instance, if you are using our Single Origins, we often use a ratio of 1:14, which highlights the acidity and delicate flavors. However, if you are using our House Blend, we recommend a ratio of 1:12 to accentuate its silky body and chocolate sweetness. Note that this is 35grams of coffee and 400 grams of water.

4. Use a burr grinder

To make great coffee, you need to invest in the right coffee brewing tools, like a grinder, which is among the most crucial brewing tools. Typically, ground coffee’s particle size will determine how fast you can extract the flavors from the coffee beans. Note that the small particles extract faster than the bigger ones.

Before you begin to brew the coffee, confirm that all the particles are similar in size, as this ensures they brew at an equal rate. You will have more control over your coffee brewing process if you control the size of the ground coffee. Luckily, that is what a burr grinder offers you. A burr grinder allows you to produce a specific grind size repeatedly.

The Handground Precision Grinder is among our favorite grinders to use at home as it allows you to produce the perfect grind size. It also comes with 15 unique grind settings.

5. Grind at the correct coarseness (or fineness) setting

The grind size determines the type of coffee you make. If you intend to make great coffee, you must ensure that your brewing method is suitable for your grind size. However, the big question is, how will you know you are using the right grind size? Well, the easiest way to tell is taste and time. Generally, a French Press needs a coarse grind, Aeropress and Pour-overs a medium grind, and espresso a fine grind.

When using our pour-over recipes, you have to brew the coffee in three and a half minutes. If your coffee brews slowly, this means the grind was too fine, and if it brews quickly, then the grind was too coarse. It is also worth mentioning that if the coffee tastes too bitter, the grind is too fine, and the grind is too coarse if the taste is too sour and acidic.

It helps to adjust your grind to taste and time as it will help you get a step closer to brewing delicious coffee in your home. To learn about the grind settings we use at our cafes, check out our Brew Guides.

6. Use filtered water

The taste and quality of the water you use to brew your coffee significantly affect your coffee taste. You may not know this, but water makes up 98.5% of brewed coffee. Therefore, your coffee will likely have a strange odor or taste bad if the water you use has these properties.

To make a great cup of coffee and genuinely enjoy it, consider using filtered water. Depending on where you live, you may be able to brew your coffee with tap water if the water is pure enough. However, most places do not have pure tap water, so it will be best to use bottled water or filtered water. Ensure you do not use distilled water if you use bottled water, as coffee does not need minerals to taste delicious and brew well.

7. Always confirm that your water is the right temperature

One of the things people tend to overlook is the temperature of the water they use to brew their cup of coffee. The water temperature will affect what you extract and the extraction speed as hotter water will brew coffee faster than cooler water and vice versa. To get the best flavor, ensure that the water you use to brew the coffee is between 195 and 205 degrees F.

If you brew your coffee with water below 195 degrees F, you will not get the distinct flavor or pleasant acidity you enjoy in your coffee. On the other hand, if you use water above 205 degrees F, you will extract coffee with a bitter flavor. Therefore, you must ensure that you brew your coffee in the sweet spot to get the perfect brew.

Generally, it will help to use water that is roughly 30-60 seconds off the boil as it’s within the desired range. Alternatively, you can use a thermometer used for temperature. The Fellow Stag kettle comes with a built-in thermometer.

The world of casinos has changed for the better in the past few years. Online gambling is at an all-time high, with millions of players getting into the fun every day. However, many still prefer the environment of land-based casinos.

If you’re on the edge about which casino to pick, land-based or online, this is the article for you. Stick around and find the pros and cons of each type of casino. 

Reputation

Online casinos are more reputable than ever. But when we speak of the best land-based casinos in the world, opinions may vary. For some, going with a brick-and-mortar casino may be the best option.

However, this isn’t necessarily true. Nowadays, some online casinos have a huge reputation, extraordinary security measures, and licences by several government entities. Therefore, the difference between land-based and online casinos is minimal.

Bonuses and promotions

This is one of the aspects where online casinos stand out. Since it has a bigger player base, it’s easier to offer special bonuses and perks. This includes deposit bonuses, free spins, or other rewards.

When it comes to land-based casinos, you won’t get any special treatment unless you’re a high roller. For this reason, many prefer going online.

Payment options

Players can only use two major banking options at regular casinos – credit/debit cards or cold hard cash. In the online panorama, bettors can use a wide variety of payment methods, such as; e-wallets, cryptocurrency and many more.

Online casinos also accept a huge variety of currencies. For example, you may find an online casino with NZD, USD, CAD, or EUR. Options are limitless!

Game selection and options

Physical gaming at casinos takes up a lot of space. This means casinos need huge gambling rooms to keep up with their online counterparts.

On the other hand, online players can access thousands of games with just a few clicks. Changing between games is easier than ever; close the game and start a new one. This is why so many prefer online casinos these days.

Game variants also make a difference. While a Vegas casino has two or three blackjack or baccarat variations, for instance, online casinos have dozens. If you’re not a fan of traditional games, online casinos have you covered.

Personal interaction

Nothing beats a nice talk or friendly banter with other players at a casino. This fun and carefree environment is what attracts so many people. And an online casino can’t replicate this feeling, no matter how hard it tries.

Still, live casino games are more popular than ever. With these, players can chat in online virtual chat rooms with bettors from all around the world. While it’s not like the real deal, it’s getting closer day by day.

Conclusion

Choosing a land-based or online casino is a matter of preference. Either way, we’re sure you’ll have a fun and enjoyable time.

Brick-and-mortar casinos won’t disappoint you if you prefer the traditional gambling experience. However, if you’re a modern player that likes getting nice bonuses and more games, online casinos are the right option.