More for the 9th
 

In 1979, an area near Brighton Marina, England, was set aside as Britains first officially-designated nudist beach!


In 1996, Atlanta student John Leonard sued Pepsi-Cola claiming they owed him a Harrier jump-jet, as offered in an advert to collectors of seven million 'container points'.


Does anyone know if he ever got it?? :D

DM

No, he lost his suit against Pepsi. As quoted on Snopes.com:

"Leonard filed suit in Miami against Pepsi for breach of contract, fraud, deceptive and unfair trade practices, and misleading advertising. The issue then landed in federal court in Manhattan with Pepsi responding by asking the court for a declaratory judgment saying it did not have to give Leonard a Harrier.

In August 1999, the New York judge upheld Pepsi's case. "No objective person could reasonably have concluded that the commercial actually offered consumers a Harrier jet," U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood said.

Not that Leonard would have ended up with the full jet anyway if things had gone his way -- the Pentagon quashed the promotion in September 1997 when it announced that these $33.8 million jets are not for sale in flyable shape. Harriers take off and land vertically. But the Pentagon said any of the Marine aircraft would have to be "demilitarized" before being offered to the public, which means stripping them of their armament and rendering them unable to fly."

August 10th
 

Darogle..^^^ bit of a bummer, really!! :) Onwards.....






Today in 1977 New York cops arrest David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz. The postal-worker cum serial-killer had shot six people and wounded seven others


Renowned "doggy" actor Rin Tin Tin died this day in 1932. He sired two dogs of the same name, who both went on to play the part in the popular TV series.


Dan Rylands, of the Hope Glassworks in Barnsley South Yorkshire, patented the screw-top bottle in 1889.


This day in 1932 almost a third of Brazils entire coffee crop - 17.2 million sacks - was deliberately destroyed in an attempt to keep coffee prices up.

Here's some more for today, Aug. 10th:

1793 - The Louvre in Paris had its grand opening.

1821 - The state of Missouri was admitted to the Union as the 24th of the United States.

1833 - With a population of less than 200, Chicago, Illinois was incorporated as a village.

1846 - The United States Congress established the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

1948 - Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" made its television debut.

1954 - At Overton Park, in his native Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis Presley made one of his first professional appearances.

1981 - Philadelphia Phillie Pete Rose made career hit number 3,631, to become the National League leader for hits, breaking Stan "The Man" Musial's record.

1995 - Sammy Sosa tied a Chicago Cubs club record with four stolen bases at Los Angeles, California.

1995 - Former army friends Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were indicted for the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19.

August 11th
 

St. Clare of Assisi died in 1253, after experiencing a vision of the Nativity on her bedroom wall. She was made patron saint of television (a considerable time later!! :))


This day in 1948, President Harry S. Truman authorised a $65 million interest-free loan to build the United Nations headquarters in New York


Today in 1853, the frigate Madagascar left Melbourne for London with 200 passengers and crew, and 70,000 ounces of gold aboard...and was never seen again!!


In 1917 William Bishop, the most successful Canadian fighter pilot of WW1, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during a raid on a German aerodrome

August 12th
 

Bit late (reason is in Pics of Women!!)


Today is {was} the Glorious Twelfth.... the official start of the Grouse-shootng season here in Scotland!! Poor birdies!!


Japanese Airlines flight 123 loses its tail and falls 24,000 feet today in 1985, killing 520 people......the largest single-aircraft disaster in history. Amazingly, four people survived!!


Isaac Singer patented his sewing machine on this day in 1851. He had turned to inventing only after failing in his first choice of career....... as an actor!


Westminster's Big Ben clock was running at it's slowest for 90 years in 1949; this was due to flocks of Starlings roosting on the minute-hands, slowing it by 4 and a half minutes!


Two bird stories in one post..... is that an omen?!?!

DM

More for Aug 12

1942 - Screen actor Clark Gable, at age 41, enlisted in Los Angeles as a United States Army private.

1953 - The Soviet Union conducted a secret test of its first hydrogen bomb.

1964 - Mickey Mantle, for the 10th time in his major-league baseball career, hit home runs from the left and ride sides of the plate during the same game; setting a new baseball record.

1966 - The Beatles last tour began at the International Amphitheater in Chicago where John Lennon apologized for boasting the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. London’s "Catholic Herald" said Lennon’s statement was "arrogant ... but probably true."

August 13th
 

Unlucky bad-guys Peter Allen and John Welby became the last men to be hanged in Britain, this day in 1964. From then on, Capital punishment was NOT an option for judges to gove as a sentence, even in murder trials.


Today in 1704, in one of the most decisive battles in history, the Duke of Marlborough beat Marshal Tallard at Blenheim, checking (French Kings) Louis XIV's territorial ambitions beyond the Rhine.


In 1944, German scientists in Berlin announced that the new V-2 flying bomb, the first long-range ballistic missle, was ready for use against Britain.


Legendary Tenor Enrico Caruso was fond of posing in his many luxury cars, but never learned to drive!! On this day in London, in 1908, his wife Ada Giachetti eloped with their chauffeur!!

August 14th
 

A torpedo exploded on-board the Russian submarine "Kursk" in 2000, setting off (most of) the rest of it's ordnance. All 118 crewmen died..... some very slowly.


In 1955, record crowds attended the Royal Academy summer exhibition to see the new portrait of the Queen by Pietro Annigoni. (Her FIRST official portrait since being crowned Queen in 1953)


The first oral contraceptive was marketed by the American drug company Searle, this day in 1960.


This last one is for our Aussie friends!! (:D)

In 1948, Aussie batsman took the crease at The Oval in his final Test innings, needing just 4 runs to achieve a test average of 100; he was bowled out on his second ball....... for a DUCK!


Sorry guys, couldn't resist that one!! ;)

DM

August 15th
 

Today in 1848, M Waldo Hanchett patented.......... the DENTAL CHAIR!!!

So, now you know who to blame for all those pain-wracked hours getting your teeth fixed! :D


In 1938, the Cunard liner "Queen Mary" recaptured the Blue Riband from the SS Normandie, crossing the Atlantic in 3 days, 22 hours and 40 minutes.


In 1534, near Montmartre in Paris, Spanish theologian St. Ignatius of Loyola and his followers took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience..... thus founding the Society of Jesus (Jesuits!)


Richard Branson's "Virgin Atlantic Challenger" sank in heavy seas in 1985, just TWO hours short of crossing the Atlantic in record time. (and hence, reclaiming the Blue Riband for Britain AGAIN, 47 years after the Queen Mary!!)

Today is Mother's Day .... in Costa Rica. :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

August 16th
 

Only the one for now.....

Today in 1977, at 2:30 p.m., Elvis Presley's 18-stone (250 pound) was discovered slumped in the toilet by his Road Manager, Jerry Esposito


Rock'n'Roll will NEVER die!!

August 16th (re-visited)
 

Today in 1992, British racing driver Nigel Mansell won the F1 World Championship with a record NINE Grand Prix victories; this record has since been equalled three times, and surpassed once, by (a certain) Michael Schumacher!


Clara Bow signed a five-year contract with Paramount in 1926; she was the first starlet to avoid the then traditional 'Morality Clause', which let the studio cancel in case of a scandal.


In 2001, police charged Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, with the theft of her property.... without first checking with the Queen whether or not she knew where the items had gone. The case has since been thrown out of court.

August 17th
 

Communist East Germany completes the Berlin Wall today in 1961. Over the next 28 years, 75,000 people are jailed for trying to cross it, and 189 (admitted to) killed.


Today in 1996, at Selhurst Park in England, a young David Beckham (complete with lank blond hair and a hint of acne!) gives an early glimpse of his talents by scoring from the half-way line.


In 1666, Samuel Pepys took delivery from 'Simpson the joiner' of the first known glass-fronted bookcase.


"The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown" had a U.K. No.1 hit in 1968 with their second release 'Fire'. Their first single flopped when record company, Polydor, ran out of vinyl during production!!

AUGUST 18TH



1~~Beatles' double A side Yellow Submarine/Eleanor Rigby topped the charts, becoming the group's 11th consecutive No1~~~~a feat never rivalled'


2~~The first Morris Mini Minor was unveilled this day in 1959~~a total of 5,387,862 were sold before production ceased on October 4th 2000


3~~NEW zealand inventor PERCY DANDO took a patent on this day 1902, for a 'silent chamber pot' ,designed so sleeping partners wouldn't be woken up!


:bfly:

August 19th
 

Twenty-five year Postal Service veteran Perry Smith, having resigned from the service in Johnson, South Carolina, returns today in 1983 and kills the Postmaster.


Today in 1953, at the Oval, London, England's cricketers won back the Ashes from Australia for the first time since 1933. They won the last Test by two wickets, after drawing the other four matches.


In 1905, Japanese scientist 'Ikeda' laid the foundations for a junk-food future, when he isolated the flavour enhancer..... Monosodium glutamate!!


Carpaccio, a dish of thin, uncooked strips of beef invented in Harry's Bar, Venice (Italy) today in 1955, was named after renaissance painter Vittore Carpaccio, who used lots of red in his paintings.

August 20th
 

Oklahoma postman Patrick "Crazy Pat" Sherill conceals two .45-calibers in his bag and 'caps' 14 fellow employees before shooting himself, today in 1986.


In 1987 treasure hunters salvaging objects from the doomed luxury liner 'Titanic', on the bottom of the Atlantic, scooped up a bag containing a fortune in jewels.


Her Majesty the Queen opened up her Sandringham Estate, in Norfolk, in 1988 to let people come and pick their own blackberries. She charged them....... 40 pence per pound!!!


In 1911 Vincenzo Perugia, a cleaner at the Louvre in Paris, stole the Mona Lisa by simply taking it of the wall and walking out with it under his coat!! The painting was not recovered for TWO years!



Dunno about you guys, but it looks like the BIGGEST crook of the lot is our own dear Queen!! (Money-grabbing old ........ person!!)

DM

August 21st
 

OK, how many of you are getting fed-up with all this? (Just thought I'd ask!! :))


In 1986, toxic gas erupted from a volcanic lake in Caneroon, Africa, killing over 1,700 people.


A slave revolt in Virginia began today in 1831, after Nat Turner heard a voice in a dream telling him " the last shall be first". It was harshly repressed within 48 hours.


In Battle, East Sussex in 1976, 25-year old Mary Langdon became the first British woman to join the Fire Brigade!






Remember, if you're fed-up with this, let me know!!

DM

August 22nd
 

From yesterdays post, I'm not sure whether to keep going, or not!! NO answers...... does that mean you all like this thread, or that no-one looks any more?????? Speak UP, folks!!! :)


King Charles the First calls Parliament and it's soldiers "Traitors" in 1642, starting the English Civil War!!


Today in 1953 the infamous French prison on Devil's Island, off the coast of French Guiana, which was featured in the Stve McQueen film 'Papillon', released it's last prisoner.


In 1840, pupils & staff from Gateshead Fell school went on the first-ever school outing by train..... to Tynemouth! (About 5{?} miles!!)


Scores of angry smokers blocked a street near Moscow's Red Square for hours in 1990, in protest at a summer-long cigarette shortage!

August 23rd
 

Today in 1962, at the Mount Pleasant Register office in Liverpool, John Lennon married Cynthia Powell, whom he'd met at Liverpool College of Art. Brian Epstein was Best Man.


"Pilot" Bryan Allen made the world's first man-powered flight of more than a mile in the ultra-light Gossamer Condor in 1977, winning the £50,000 Kremer prize. (He went on to cross the English Channel in the same craft)


When Hitler signed the Ribbentrop Pact with Soviet Russia in 1939, it went largely unremarked in France....... despite giving the Nazis the chance of a "one-front" war in Europe! {Not for the FIRST time, it has to be said! :)}

August 24th
 

In 1992 Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida, causing record damage of $25 Billion.....and killing 55 people.

My ex and I went on holiday there in October that year...... you would never have known, from what WE saw, that it had ever happened.



Today in 1972, Henry McCullough and Denny Siewell of Wings told Paul McCartney they were leaving the band; just before it recorded stand-out album "Band On The Run". DOH!!!


In 1875 Captain Matthew Webb, Cunard Line Master-turned-professional endurance swimmer, set off from Dover on his 22-hour feat to become the first person ever to swim the English Channel - a distance of just over 22 miles!


In 1967, two penguins from Chessington Zoo, in England, were taken on a day-trip to Streatham ice-rink in South London - to let them cool off during a sweltering summer!!
Betcha it didn't happen THIS year!!!

In AD79, Mt Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii & Herculaneum

In AD410 Rome was overrun by Visigoths which bascially ended the Western Roman Empire

In 1572 King Charles IX ordered the massacre of thousands of French Protestants

What a fun day 8/24 has been :D :D

August 25th
 

In 2001, singer Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash


Liverpool F.C.'s famous "Kop" stand was opened at their Anfield ground today in 1928. It was named after Spion Kop in South Africa, site of a famous battle in the Boer War.


The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army, was first chartered by Henry VIII in 1537; at a time when 'Artillery' meant 'Small Arms'.


In 1830, opera-goers in Brussels were inspired by a new work by George Auber, about an anti-Spanish uprising n Naples, to start a revolution against the Dutch authorities.

More for Aug 25th:

1718 - The city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was founded and named in honor of the Duke of Orleans of France.

1814 - British forces destroyed the United States Library of Congress along with the 3,000 books it contained.

1875 - British swimmer Matthew Webb was the first documented person to swim across the English Channel. The day before, smeared in porpoise oil for insulation, he departed Dover (England) and twenty-one hours and 45 minutes later waded ashore at Cape Gris Nez, near Calais (France).

1944 - Paris was liberated when the local German commander, General Choltitz, surrendered to the allies.

1930 - The original (and best) James Bond, Sean Connery was born

August 26th
 

In 1346, British soldiers used the Longbow to defeat the French at the Battle of Crecy. The finger arrangement used to fire the arrows later gives birth to the "V" sign! (Allegedly!!:))


Today in 1970, up to 600,000 people descended on Afton Farm on the Isle of Wight to hear The Who, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Joan Baez and MANY more, in a vast, anarchic pop festival!!! Doncha just wish you coulda BEEN there?!!


Felix Mendelssohn conducted the first performance of his great oratorio Elijah at the Birmingham Festival, in 1846.


On this day in 1946, long before a dog said "sausages" on Esther Rantzens 'That's Life' programme, BBC engineers recorded Ben, a dog in Royston, Hertfordshire, saying "I Want One" in a gruff voice. Sounds like a bit of a 'shaggy dog' story to me!!

btw, th^t last one, probably only Brits of a 'certain age' will remember that programme!!!

August 27th
 

Smallpox was first used as a biological weapon in 1763, when British forces distributed blankets used by smallpox patients among Native americans collaborating with the French Makes a person proud to be British! :(


Today in 79AD burning lava from Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that had erupted with terrible force three days earlier, engulfed & totally buried the Roman city of Pompeii


Edwin Drake developed the technique of drilling inside a tube to bore the world's first Oil Well at Titusville, Pennsylvania, finding oil today in 1859 just 69 feet below the surface!


In 1941, German soldiers on the Eastern Front in WW2 were issued with a Russian phrase book containing more than 3000 expressions - though NOT including "sorry"

August 28th
 

In 1997, lightning killed a Camel at Knowlsey Safari Park on Merseyside, England.


Today in 1987 the last of the mailbags traditionally hand-sewn by convicts for the Royal Mail, were produced by inmates of Dartmoor Prison.


St. Andrews university (Scotland), set up by Bishop Henry Wardlaw, had it's foundation ratified by a Papal Bull of Pope Benedict XIII today in 1413.


5000 bricks from Liverpool's famous 'Cavern Club', sold for charity at £5 each in 1983, NOW fetch up to £700 apiece. Others were used to re-create the club on an overlapping site.

August 30th
 

Sorry, not sure what happened to yesterday..... thought I'd posted it, but it doesn't look like it!!! :) Back to today......


In 30 B.C., Cleopatra committed suicide by holding an Asp to her chest.


In 1991, having won 66 Long Jump events in a row, Carl Lewis was finally beaten - by Mike Powell's world record leap of 8.95 metres.


The first street trams to run in Britain appeared on Birkenhead Street Railway in 1960.


In 1901, Hubert Booth of Glasgow reversed the action of a dust-blowing machine to invent the vacuum cleaner.

Bad day for Iranian leaders back in 1981 ...

In 1981, Mohammad Ali Rajai president of Iran, was assassinated by a bomb; and, that same year, Mohammad Javad Bahonar prime minister of Iran, was assassinated by a bomb.



BTW ... on the 29th ... for you motorcycle fans ... Gottlieb Daimler received German patent for a motorcycle in 1885.

August 31st
 

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in Paris. (There has STILL not been an official enquiry, OR memorial, for this woman!)


In 1968 Sir Garfield (Gary) Sobers, batting against Glamorgan at Swansea, hits six "sixes" in one over. The commentator shouted "It's gone WAY down to Swansea!" (For our U.S. cousins, it's kinda like hitting a Home Run in every innings, as I understand baseball!!)


The first bottles of Charles Candler's new drink, Coca-Cola, arrived in Brtitain from Atlanta, Georgia, in 1900.


Today in 1983, angler Russell Doig was presented with a special trophy fot catching the first Salmon in the River Thames for over 150 years!! 150 years; now THAT'S pollution!!

Sept 1st

1945 - The United States received official word of Japan's formal surrender that ended World War II. In Japan, it was actually September 2nd.
1972 - Robert "Bobby" Fischer, United States chess player, defeated Soviet player Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland, becoming the United States' first player to officially win the World Chess Championship. Fisher's strange demands during tournaments, off-the-wall antics, and unexplained forfeiture of his world title brought him an uncharacteristic notoriety than most chess champions.

1985 - A joint United States-French expedition located the wreck of the Titanic roughly 560 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The "unsinkable" ocean-liner sunk in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. Twelve years after the wreck's location, the movie Titanic went on to break box office records.

1997 - In France, the prosecutor's office said the driver of the car in which Princess Diana was killed, was over the legal alcohol limit.

September 2nd
 

In 1999, a cat nicknamed "Sparkey" ~ who survived an 11,000-volt electric shock ~ died after returning to the electricity sub-station that almost killed him originally How many lives was that again? :)


Today in 1192, Richard the Lionheart signed a peace treaty with Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and withdrew his forces from Jerusalem, thus ending the Third Crusade


In 1987, Philips introduced the video disc, called CD-video, combining digital sound with high-definition video! Didn't think they'd been around THAT long!


The name "California", from Garcia de Montalvo's 16th-century novel The Exploits of Esplandian,describes a mythical kingdom ruled by black women. Never happen....... will it?

September 3rd
 

William the Conqueror, scourge of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, died today in 1087.


In 1985, Greater London Council leader Ken Livingstone, (now Mayor of London) parachuted into the River Thames as a publicity stunt.


The first British campaign medals were issued after the English army, led by Oliver Cromwell, routed the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 (Cost 'em, though!!)


When Sweden changed from driving on the left, to the right, in 1967, accidents were REDUCED, as drivers were much more careful!!! Bit like us Brits driving ANYWHERE in Europe!!!

Some more for Sept. 3


1783 - The Paris Peace Treaty was signed between the United States and Great Britain, officially ending the American Revolutionary War for independence.

1895 - In Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the first professional football game was played. With the score 12-0, the Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club. Decades later, Latrobe became the home for the Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp.

1939 - British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, in a radio broadcast, announced that Britain and France had declared war on Germany.

1954 - After 21 years and 2,956 episodes, "The Lone Ranger" was heard for the final time on radio.

1962 - American poet and painter e e cummings died at age 67 in North Conway, New Hampshire.
1976 - The U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 landed on Mars and began sending back photographs of the Martian landscape.

1991 - Wanda Holloway of Channelview, Texas, was convicted on this date of trying to hire a hit man to kill the mother of her daughter's cheerleader rival in junior high school.

September 4th
 

Ismail Ayyildiz died in hospital today in 1995, after trying to shoot out his bad tooth!!


In 1733, Britain's first ever lioness died of old age in the Tower of London, where she had been cared for by the Keeper of the Lion Office, having produced "many cubs"


In 1781, Spanish settlers namded their town, on the west coast of America, El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles.... "The Town of Our Lady the queen of the Angels"


Belgian writer Georges Simenon, creator of the fictional detective "Maigret", died today in 1989, claiming to have made love to over 10,000 women.

September 5th
 

After keeping the rush-hour trains running over the body of a woman who dived onto the tracks in 1997, the Sydney Ambulance Service explained: "It was pretty obvious after a few trains ran over her, that she was dead!!" Those caring, lovable Aussies, huh?!


Today in 1871, French author Victor Hugo returned to Paris to a hero's welcome after his political exile on Guernsey, with the manuscript of Les Miserablesin his pocket!


In 1980, after 21 years work, the Swiss opened the world's longest raod tunnel - the ten-mile St. Gotthard, from Goschenen to Airolo, at a cost of 690 Million swiss Francs


France's greatest king, Louis XIV, was born in 1638 after his parents, Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, had been married for 23 years

September 6th
 

In 1759, General Wolfe defeats the French on the Plains of Abraham, and Canada becomes English...... for a while!! :)


In 1952 a prototype de Havilland 110 jet-fighter exploded while breaking the Sound barrier at the Farnborough Air Show, and crashed into the ground. The aircraft killed 27 people, and injured 63 more.


Wickets consisting of three stumps, were used for the first time at a cricket match in Surrey between Coulsdon and Chertsey, in 1776.


Colombian (soccer) goalkeeper Rene Higuita brightened up a 0-0 friendly against England in 1995, by saving a lob with a "Scorpion-kick", with his heels kicking up behind his head! I saw this move quite a few times.... WHAT a show-off!!! ;)

September 7th
 

A gentleman by the name of Henry Bliss becomes the first automobile fatality in the U.S. toay in 1899.


In 1986, Bishop Desmond Tutu became the first black head of the Anglican Church in South Africa, when he was 2enthroned2 as Archbishop of Capetown.


The first use of submarines in warfare came this day in 1776, when the Americans tried to blow-up the Royal Navy flagship in New York harbour using a midget submarine - they failed!!


Citizens of Loretto, Italy, like to believe that angels moved the home of Mary & Joseph from Nazareth to their city, on this day in 1295.

September 8th
 

In 1968, at the first U.S. Open Tennis Championships at Forest Hills, Britains Virginia Wade defeated America's Billie Jean King in the final.


The first example of Hitler's V2 secret rocket bomb landed in Chiswick in 1944, killing three people.


The Dutch settlement New Amsterdam, renamed New York by the British, was swapped in a peace treaty for the spice-island of Run, thought at the time to be more valuable!!!

September 9th
 

Chairman Mao Tse-tung, leader of Communist China's 800 MILLION people, and author of the Little Red Book , died at the age of 82 today in 1976


The United States of America was born today in 1776, when the Continental Congress changed the name of ther nation from the "United Colonies"


TV crews filming reconstruction on the streets were blamed for the race-riots that erupted in London's Notting Hill area, in 1958