3rd December: Telescope Day

Today is Telescope Day, because Galileo invented the telescope on this date in 1621. Here are ten things you may not know about telescopes.

1. Contrary to popular belief, Galileo didn't invent the telescope. Spectacle makers Jacob Metius, Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen are credited as inventors of the first telescopes, and they are said to have got the idea from watching kids playing with lenses in their shop.
2. The first telescopes were a great commercial success, mostly among merchants, who used them to spot ships belonging to their competitors and sailors, who used them to read Semaphore signals at greater distances.
3. Galileo was the first person to think of looking at the stars with one. He improved the design and built his own. He looked at Jupiter and discovered it had moons; he looked at the Moon and discovered it had craters. There was no health and safety in those days, so he also looked at the Sun and this is quite possibly why he went blind in later life.
4. Isaac Newton invented the reflecting telescope, ie one that uses mirrors, in 1668.
5. Most telescopes work by collecting electromagnetic radiation - including visible light. As well as visible light, there are telescopes that collect X-rays, gamma rays, Ultraviolet, Infrared and cosmic rays. Radio telescopes collect microwave radiation.
6. The word "telescope" comes from the Ancient Greek tele "far" and skopein "to look or see"; ie teleskopos "far-seeing". The word was coined in 1611 by the Greek mathematician Giovanni Demisiani for one of Galileo Galilei's instruments presented at a banquet at the Accademia dei Lincei.
7. The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO-2, nicknamed Stargazer) was a space observatory launched on December 7, 1968 - it was the first space telescope. Putting telescopes in space means astronomers can collect types of radiation which don't pass through the Earth's atmosphere, and even optical telescopes produce better images in space because of something called "astronomical seeing" which makes images blur and flicker - the reason why stars twinkle, in a nutshell.
8. The better known Hubble Space Telescope, named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990. With a 2.4-meter (7.9 ft) mirror, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared spectra. The mirror had to be polished continuously for a year to an accuracy of 10 nanometers, about 1/10,000 the width of a human hair. However, the polishers didn't quite get it right - they were off by 2,200 nanometers, which meant the images weren't as sharp as they could be - so Hubble had to be fitted with corrective lenses to rectify the problem. An interesting fact about the Hubble Telescope is that it only takes pictures in Black and white. The colours in those stunning pictures are added using filters.
9. There was once a 40 ton telescope in Ireland built by the Earl of Rosse in 1845. It was the world’s largest for seven decades and was nicknamed the “Leviathan of Parsonstown.” However, as anyone who has been to Ireland will know, the weather isn't always that great - the telescope couldn't be used all that much because of wet and cloudy weather.
10. Not all telescopes use glass or mirrors - some use Water as a reflecting surface and there was even one made from 100,000 gallons of dry-cleaning fluid. This was made by physicist Raymond Davis Jr. to detect invisible neutrino particles from the sun. Wacky as it sounds, he won a Nobel Physics prize for it.

2nd December: United Arab Emirates Independence Day

United Arab Emirates celebrates Independence from the UK in 1971, on this their national day.

1. The country is a federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi (the capital), Ajman, Dubai (the largest city), Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by an absolute monarch; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates.
2. Most of the population are ex-pats from other countries and migrant workers - just around 11% are Emirati nationals.
3. Dubai is the top tourism destination in the Middle East and the fifth most popular in the world.
4. Several of Dubai's buildings are record breakers. It has, since 2008, had the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, 818m-high. It's a hotel designed by British architect Tom Wright, the tallest hotel in the world, and the first to have seven stars. It also has the tallest residential tower. These buildings are so tall that people living above the 80th floor have to wait two extra minutes before they can break their fast during Ramadan, because they can see the Sun for longer.
5. Dubai also has the largest shopping mall in the world, the Dubai Mall, hosting over 1,200 shops and covering nearly 6 million square feet; the world’s longest fully automated (ie driverless) metro system, the Dubai Metro, about 75 kilometers long; and the world's fastest roller coaster in an indoor theme park owned by Ferrari. It reaches 150mph in 5 seconds.
6. Laws and punishments are severe. Stoning to death is legal for married people committing adultery and homosexuality, while people can be lashed for premarital sex, verbal abuse pertaining to a person's sexual honour, illegitimate pregnancy, drunk-driving, Kissing in public and abortion. Dancing in public is illegal in the UAE and drinking alcohol is only allowed in the privacy of your own home - provided you have a “liquor license”. In July 2015, an Australian expat was deported for swearing on Facebook, and watch where you step - a British man was once sentenced to four years in prison in Dubai after cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar was found in the tread of his shoe. Later, he was pardoned. On the plus side, The crime rate in Dubai is virtually nil.
7. The United Arab Emirates donated a laptop to every high school student in Joplin, Missouri, after the city had been devastated by a Tornado.
8. In 2004, there was Snow in the UAE for the very first time - but it does have a ski resort. The ski resort is the first in the Middle East and has 5 runs with varying degrees of difficulty. It is indoors.
9. Dubai is famous for its distinctive manmade islands, most notably the Palm Island and The World.
10. Having some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world has made the country very rich, so much so that there are cash machines in Dubai which dispense gold bars, and the Dubai police fleet includes a Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley so they can catch speeders who can outrun other cars. 

1st December: Woody Allen

Woody Allen was born on this date in 1935. Happy 80th birthday, Woody. Here are some Woody Allen quotes:

1. Eighty percent of success is showing up.
2. If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative.
3. I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.
4. It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.
5. I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.
6. You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.
7. Most of the time I don't have much fun. The rest of the time I don't have any fun at all.
8. Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once.
9. The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep.
10. Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem. 

30 November: Barbados Independence Day

Barbados gained Independence from the UK on 30 November 1966. Here are ten things you might not know about Barbados.

1. Bridgetown is the capital and largest city. It was originally called Indian Bridge and changed to its current name after 1654.
2. Bridgetown has a Trafalgar Square with a statue of Nelson in it which was erected on 22 Mar 1813, making it older than its counterpart in London.
3. The name comes from the Portuguese or Spanish words meaning "the bearded ones". This might refer to the the bearded fig-tree which has long, hanging roots, or indigenous Caribs living there who had beards. In ancient times it was called Ichirouganaim, meaning "Red land with white teeth". It has also been called Bim or Bimshire. According to the National Cultural Foundation of Barbados, "Bim" was a word commonly used by slaves which derives from the Igbo term bé mụ́ meaning 'my home, kindred, kind'.
4. The flag has two blue bands, representing the sea, with a yellow band in the middle representing the sand on the island. The Yellow band contains a broken trident taken from the colonial badge, which features Britannia holding a trident. This symbolises the break from being a colony. The Flag was designed by Grantley W. Prescod as part of an open competition organised by the government.
5. Early settlers imported mongooses to kill the Rats in the sugar cane fields. This backfired as the mongooses preferred to eat the Snakes which ate the rats. It is considered good luck in Barbados if a mongoose crosses your path.
6. Citizens are officially called Barbadians. Colloquially they might refer to themselves as "Bajan", which may have come from a localised pronunciation of the word Barbadian, which at times can sound more like "Bar-bajan".
7. The highest point is Mount Hillaby in the geological Scotland District 340 metres (1,120 ft) above sea level. The tallest buildings in the world are higher.
8. The Pride of Barbados is the national flower. The leaves are boiled and used as a tea which is supposed to help stop babies from crying.
9. Barbados exports $57 million worth of Rum per year.
10. Famous Barbadians include Grandmaster Flash (born Joseph Saddler in Bridgetown in 1958) and Rihanna (born in Saint Michael). In 2009 she was appointed as an Honorary Ambassador of youth and culture for Barbados.

29 November: Louisa May Alcott

Louisa M Alcott wrote the classic novel Little Women, and was born on this date in 1832.

1. I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.
2. Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes.
3. Women have been called queens for a long time, but the kingdom given them isn't worth ruling.
4. A faithful friend is a strong defence; And he that hath found him hath found a treasure.
5. Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
6. I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen.
7. I want to do something splendid… Something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead… I think I shall write books.
8. You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he’s the right one.
9. There is always light behind the clouds.
10. She preferred imaginary heroes to real ones, because when tired of them, the former could be shut up in the tin kitchen till called for, and the latter were less manageable.

28 November: Albania Independence Day

November 28 is Albania Independence Day. Here are ten things you might not know about Albania:

1. The capital and largest city is Tirana. It is one of the very few capital cities in the world which doesn't have a McDonalds. It is a very colourful city because its mayor from 2000-2011 was a painter, Edi Rama. He was criticised for focusing on the appearance of the city more than the development of an infrastructure. Honorary citizens of the city include Nikita Khrushchev, Pope Francis and... Norman Wisdom.
2. Norman Wisdom was very popular there because he was one of the few Western actors whose films weren't banned by the dictator Enver Hoxha. Hoxha also declared Albania an atheist state in 1967 (today the majority of the people are Muslims) and was so paranoid that he built 750,000 concrete bunkers to protect the country from an invasion that never happened.
3. Another well known town is Berat, renowned for its historic architecture and scenic beauty. Berat is known as the "Town of a Thousand Windows", due to the many large Windows of the old decorated houses overlooking the town.
4. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbëri or Arbëni and referred to themselves as Arbëresh or Arbënesh. Since the 17th century they have called it Shqipëria and themselves Shqiptarë meaning "Land of the Eagles" and "Children of the Eagles". The golden eagle is the Albanian national symbol.
5. Albania was a kingdom for a while and had one king, King Zog. His family were feudal landowners and possibly descended from the sister of Albania's greatest national hero, the 15th-century general Skanderbeg. Before being declared King, Zog also served as Prime Minister and President. He was never technically crowned. Once made king, he broke off his engagement to the daughter of Shefqet Bey Verlaci, which meant Verlaci had a legitimate blood feud against him, so he became somewhat paranoid, surrounding himself with guards and putting his mother in charge of the kitchens. In April 1938 Zog married Countess Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi, a Roman Catholic aristocrat who was half-Hungarian and half-American. They had one son, Leka. Soon after his birth, the country was invaded by Italy and the royal family fled into exile. Zog lived in England and Egypt and died in France. He bought a large house in New York but never lived in it. Some Albanians continued to believe that Zog and Leka were the rightful monarchs. Zog's grandson, also called Leka, born in South Africa in 1982, now lives in Tirana and is Political Adviser to the current President.
6. The highest mountain in Albania is Korab in the district of Dibër, at 2,764 metres (9,068 ft).
7. Albania has never won an Olympic medal, but does have one Nobel prize winner in Mother Teresa, whose birth place was part of Albania at the time of her birth. The Tirana International airport was named after Mother Teresa in 2001.The full name of the the airport is Tirana International Nene Tereza.
8. Ferid Murad (USA) who won the 1998 prize for Medicine had an Albanian father, as did John Belushi, star of the film The Blues Brothers.
9. Albania was the only country in Europe where the Jewish population grew during the Holocaust. Only 200 Albanian Jews are left in the country today - most of them emigrated to Israel after the fall of the Communist regime.
10. Albania had 3 million people but only 3000 cars at the end of the communist era in 1991 because private cars were illegal. 

27 November: 27

Here are 10 things you didn't know about the number 27.

1. It is the atomic number of cobalt.
2. If you add up all the numbers between 2 and 7, the total is 27. Also it is three times the sum of its digits, the only positive integer for which this is the case.
3. There are 27 books in the New Testament of the Bible.
4. The coloured balls in snooker have a total value of 27.
5. There are 27 bones in the human hand.
6. "Weird Al" Yankovic uses the number 27 in at least one song on all of his albums because he thinks it is a funny number.
7. There are 27 zodiac signs in Indian astrology.
8. In Stephen King's novel "It", It returns every 27 years to Derry.
9. There are 27 letters in the Hebrew alphabet (22 regular letters and 5 final consonants) and in the Spanish alphabet (5 vowels and 22 consonants).
10. The 27 Club refers to the seemingly disproportionate number of musicians who died in tragic circumstances at the age of 27. Musicians who belong to the club include Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse.

26th November: Concorde

On this date in 2003, Concorde was retired. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued commercial flights for 27 years until 2003. It is one of only two supersonic transports to have entered commercial service; the other was the Tupolev Tu-144. Here are ten fact you may not know about Concorde.

1. Only 20 of them were ever built, and six of those were prototypes. Air France and British Airways had seven each.
2. In the UK, if you saw one of these aircraft flying overhead, you'd say "there goes Concorde" rather than, "there goes A Concorde". In France and the USA, however, they would refer to it using an article.
3. There was a political storm over whether the name of the aircraft would have the "e" on the end or not. The word concorde is French and means agreement, harmony or union. The English word with the same meaning is concord. Harold Macmillan dropped the "e" because he was annoyed with Charles de Gaulle. Later, the then British Government Minister for Technology, Tony Benn, announced that he'd decided to put the "e" back. This upset British nationalists until Benn told them the "e" stood for "Excellence, England, Europe and Entente (Cordiale)." This satisfied most of them, but an angry Scotsman wrote and complained that "E" for England was a snub to the Scottish engineers who'd produced the nose cone. Benn had an answer to that. He pointed out that the French word for Scotland was 'Écosse'.
4. The first Concorde made its first test flight from Toulouse on 2 March 1969, piloted by André Turcat, and first went supersonic on 1 October that year. The first UK-built Concorde flew from Filton to RAF Fairford on 9 April 1969, piloted by Brian Trubshaw.
5. At supersonic speeds, the fuselage of the aircraft heated up so much that Concorde would expand by almost a foot (300mm) in flight. This was also the reason Concorde was always painted white. The white finish reduced the skin temperature by 6 to 11 degrees Celsius.
6. Concorde flew much higher than other commercial aircraft, with a maximum cruising altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) (subsonic airliners typically cruise below 40,000 feet (12,000 m)). At this height, it was possible to see the curvature of the Earth as if you were on the edge of space. Due to the lack of other aircraft at that height, and the fact they were flying above the weather, Concorde's routes across the Atlantic never varied. In the early days, people were concerned that flying so high exposed passengers to extraterrestrial ionising radiation and that flying Concorde could cause skin cancer. However, due to the shorter flight times, Concorde passengers would be exposed to less radiation than their sub-sonic counterparts. Nevertheless, Concorde's flight deck was equipped with a radiometer, so that if the radiation level did rise, the pilots could descend to a safer altitude.
7. Concorde had an adjustable nose cone. In flight, the nose would be straight to make it more aerodynamic, but it would be lowered for take-off and landing to maximise visibility from the cockpit.
8. Vital statistics: Concorde could carry up to 128 passengers. It was 202 ft 4 in (61.66 m) long and its wingspan was 84 ft 0 in (25.6 m). Its height was 40 ft 0 in (12.2 m). Concorde had a maximum cruise altitude of 18,300 metres (60,039 ft) and an average cruise speed of Mach 2.02. The average time it took to fly across the Atlantic on Concorde was just under 3.5 hours. The fastest transatlantic flight was from New York JFK Airport to Heathrow on 7 February 1996, taking 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds.
9. There is a Transformer which turns into Concorde. The Aerialbot Silverbolt, leader of the Aerialbots, which combine to make one giant robot known as Superion, turns into Concorde. Silverbolt is the torso of the robot. Strangely, given that Concorde flies higher than any other aircraft, Silverbolt is afraid of heights and was made leader so that responsibility for the others would make him forget his fear. However, it makes sense when you realise the rest of the robot was made from spacecraft. His motto is: Don't look down, look straight ahead. He is voiced by Charlie Adler.
10. In September 2015, the Concorde Club announced that they had raised over £160 million to buy the Concorde currently on display at Le Bourget airport and make it airworthy. A tentative date of 2019 has been put forward for the first flight - so watch this space.

25th November: Bosnia and Herzegovina's national day

Today is Bosnia and Herzegovina's national day - so here are some little known facts about the country.

1. The Capital and largest city is Sarajevo, sometimes nicknamed the "Olympic City" because it hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics or "European Jerusalem".
2. Since 1995, Sarajevo has hosted a film festival, which has has become the largest and most famous film festival in the Balkans and South-East Europe.
3. The name "Bosnia" is probably derived from the name of the Bosna river or a word meaning water, while Herzegovina means "Dukedom", Herzog being the German word for "duke". Bosnia is in the north of the country and Herzegovina in the south.
4. They have a unique constitutional term for the main ethnic groups - constituent peoples. There are three of these: Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. This means that none of them can be considered a minority. Each group speaks a different language, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. While there is no official language, these three languages have equal status. Speakers of any of these languages can generally understand and communicate with speakers of the other two and have in the past been lumped together as "Serbo-Croatian."
5. The country is vaguely heart-shaped and is sometimes nicknamed the “Heart Shaped Land”.
6. The Flag is blue with a Yellow triangle. Seven white stars are placed along one side of the triangle. The three points of the triangle are understood to stand for the three constituent peoples. The stars represent Europe, and the fact that two stars are half stars at the top and bottom edges of the flag, represents infinity.
7. The longest river is the Sava. The highest peak is Maglic Mountain at 2,386 metres and is found in the Sutjeska National Park, the oldest park in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
8. Also in the park is the last remaining jungle in Europe at Perućica. This ancient forest is 6 kilometres long and 1–3 kilometres wide, with an area of 1,400 hectares. Some of the trees are 300 years old, and the forest itself is said to be 20,000 years old. In some places the forest growth is almost impregnable.
9. Bosnia and Herzegovina is tenth in the world for per capita Coffee consumption with many coffee houses in the cities.
10. The country is home to the third most popular Christian pilgrimage site in Europe at Međugorje in the mountains near Mostar. In 1981, a small group of young people in the village began reporting seeing visions of the Virgin Mary on a nearby hillside.

24th November: Laurence Sterne

Author Laurence Sterne, who wrote The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, was born on this date in 1713.

1. In solitude the mind gains strength and learns to lean upon itself.
2. Only the brave know how to forgive. it is the most refined and generous pitch of virtue human nature can arrive at.
3. Sciences may be learned by rote, but wisdom not.
4. Men tire themselves in pursuit of rest.
5. I take a simple view of life. It is keep your eyes open and get on with it.
6. 'Tis known by the name of perseverance in a good cause, and of obstinacy in a bad one.
7. People who are always taking care of their health are like misers, who are hoarding a treasure which they have never spirit enough to enjoy.
8. Writing, when properly managed, (as you may be sure I think mine is) is but a different name for conversation.
9. What a large volume of adventures may be grasped within the span of his little life by him who interests his heart in everything.
10. Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.

23 November: Fibonacci Day

Fibonacci Day. You've probably heard of the Fibonacci number sequence named after the mathematician Fibonacci. Here are 10 things you may not know about the man and his numbers.

1. He was born in around 1170 in Pisa, Italy, and his father was a wealthy and well travelled merchant and possibly customs officer called Guglielmo Bonacci. His given name was Leonardo.
2. Fibonacci was just one of many names he was known by. His father's name, Bonacci, means "good natured one", hence Leonardo became known as Fibonacci, a contraction of filius Bonacci, which means "son of the good-natured one." He was also referred to as Leonardo of Pisa, Leonardo Pisano, Leonardo Bigollo (traveller), Leonardo Bonacci, and Leonardo Fibonacci.
3. As a boy, Fibonacci travelled with his father. One port of call they made was Bugia, in present day Algeria, where Fibonacci first learned about the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (ie the numbers we use today as opposed to the Roman numeral system in use in Italy at the time).
4. He wrote books about mathematics using Hindu–Arabic numerals, and helped popularise them for use in trade and accounting. His most famous book is Liber Abaci (Book of Abacus or Book of Calculation). The first edition in 1202 showed the practical use of the new Arabic numeral system in commercial bookkeeping, converting weights and measures, calculation of interest, money-changing, and other applications. There are no known copies of this book in existence.
5. He wrote a second edition in around 1228 which introduced the Arabic numeral system and compared it with other systems, such as Roman numerals, and showed how to convert other numeral systems into Arabic numerals. He also wrote The Book of Squares, (Liber Quadratorum), a book on algebra. There are only copies of about four of his books in existence, even though it's thought he wrote many more. They didn't have printing in those days so books had to be written and copied out by hand, so even in Fibonacci's time there wouldn't have been many copies.
6. He didn't discover the number system named after him - the sequence had been noted by Indian mathematicians as early as the sixth century. Fibonacci merely wrote about it and brought it to the attention of people in Europe. The Fibonacci sequence only became really famous during the late nineteenth century when the mathematician Edouard Lucas gave it its present name and wrote about its properties in his book Theorie des nombres.
7. The first illustration of the number sequence in Fibonacci's book involved the growth of a population of rabbits.
8. The sequence has so many properties that there is even a mathematical journal dedicated to it - The Fibonacci Quarterly.
9. Very little is known about Fibonacci's personal life - whether he had a wife, or children, or how he died in the end. We do know that he provided accounting advice and taught mathematics in Pisa, because the Republic of Pisa issued a decree granting him a salary.
10. He also wrote about prime numbers and observed that, in order to test whether a number is a prime, all you need to do is divide it by the prime numbers up to the square root of the number you're interested in. This is the first known test for a prime number.

22 November: Lebanon Independence Day

Lebanon Independence Day was this date in 1943.

1. Lebanon is the only Arabian country that doesn't have a desert.
2. The country's name is the oldest in the world - it has remained unchanged for over 4000 years. It comes from a Semetic word for "White", thought to refer to the Snow on Mount Lebanon.
3. Lebanon's highest mountain is Al Qurnat as Sawda ("the black nook") at 3,088 metres (10,131 ft). Talking of mountains, Lebanon has four ski resorts, and it is possible to go skiing in the morning and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea in the afternoon.
4. Lebanon is mentioned 75 times in the Old Testament of the Bible, and is thought to be where Christ's first miracle (turning Water into Wine) took place.
5. Mentioned equally frequently in the Bible is the cedar, Lebanon's national symbol, which also appears on its Flag. Cedar forests covered most of the country in ancient times, but now only 13% of the country is cedar forest. The cedars were of great economic importance in ancient times. They were used for building houses, palaces, temples and ships; cedar resin was used by the Egyptians in the mummification process. In the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh the cedar groves of Lebanon were the dwelling of the gods to which Gilgamesh, the hero, ventured. Hebrew priests were ordered by Moses to use the bark of the Lebanon cedar for cleansing after leprosy; Hebrew prophet Isaiah used the Lebanon cedar as a metaphor for the pride of the world.
6. Lebanon has the highest percentage of Christians of any Arab nation, at around 40%.
7. The capital and largest city is Beirut. Beirut has been a popular tourist destination and before the civil war, was known as "the Paris of the Middle East".
8. Another Lebanese city is Byblos, which is a contender for being the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. It is believed to have been occupied first between 8800 and 7000 BC, having been built by Cronus as the first city in Phoenicia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
9. Probably the most famous Lebanese writer is Khalil Gibran, best known for his book The Prophet. John F Kennedy's famous quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" originally came from one of Gibran's books.
10. The first law school in the world was in Beirut.

21st November: First hot air balloon flight

On this date in 1783 François de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandres made the first human flight when they lifted off from the Bois de Boulogne, Paris, in a hot-air balloon built by the Montgolfier brothers. Here are 10 things you might not know about hot air balloons.

1. Hot air balloons work because hot air rises. The air inside the balloon is less dense than the air outside, making it buoyant.
2. The part of the balloon which contains the hot air is called the envelope. It is usually made from nylon with the part closest to the flame made of fire resistant nomex.
3. King Louis XVI originally decreed that the pilots and passengers for the first balloon flight should be condemned criminals, but de Rozier, along with Marquis François d'Arlandes, persuaded him to let them do it.
4. The first military use of a hot air balloon was in 1794 during the battle of Fleurus, when the French used the balloon l'Entreprenant for observation.
5. The first modern hot air balloon to be made in the United Kingdom (UK) was the Bristol Belle, built in 1967.
6. Some records: The highest flight: 21,027m (68,986 ft) by Vijaypat Singhania on November 26, 2005; the longest flight: 7,671.91 km (4,767.10 mi) from Japan to Northern Canada, by Per Lindstrand and Richard Branson on January 15, 1991 in the 'Virgin Pacific Flyer'; the fastest ground speed: 245 mph (394 km/h) by the Pacific Flyer; The longest duration record: 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes by Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard, Auguste Piccard's grandson; and Brian Jones, in the Breitling Orbiter 3. It was also the first nonstop trip around the world by balloon. Fastest balloon trip around the world: 320 h 33 min by Steve Fossett on 3 July 2002.
7. The worst hot air balloon accident took place on 26 February 2013 when a hot air balloon carrying tourists ignited and crashed near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 of the 21 people on board.
8. In the UK, the person in command of a balloon must hold a valid Private Pilot's Licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority specifically for ballooning; this is known as the PPL(B).The balloon then needs a transport category C of A (certificate of air worthiness). For passenger flying the balloon also requires a maintenance log.
9. Champagne toasts are a traditional part of balloon flights. The tradition started with early flights in France where the crew would carry a bottle of bubbly with them to placate any frightened or angry people at the landing site. A popular toast among balloonists is: "soft winds and gentle landings."
10. The largest hot air balloon festival in the world takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA during early October. The Balloon Fiesta is a nine day event, and has over 500 balloons each year.

20th November: Mexico Revolution Day

Today is Mexico Revolution Day, marking the beginning of the 1910 revolution. 10 things you might not know about Mexico.

1. Mexico is home to the world's smallest breed of Dog (the chihuahua), the world's second smallest breed of Rabbit (the volcano rabbit - a very rare rabbit which lives near Mexican volcanoes) and the largest wildcat in North America (the jaguar, which lives in the southern jungles of Mexico).
2. It introduced the world to several popular foods - Chocolate, corn, chilli and the Caesar salad, after Caesar Cardini, an Italian-American restaurateur and chef who allegedly dreamt up the dish at his Tijuana restaurant. However, one of his employees, Livio Santini, made the claim that it was actually his mother's recipe - so arguably we should be calling it Livio Salad.
3. Mexico is also home to the world's smallest volcano, the Cuexcomate volcano outside the city of Puebla, which is 43 feet tall. This is less than half the height of the Statue of Liberty. Although to be accurate, it's actually an inactive geyser that happens to look a bit like a volcano. It's perfectly safe to go inside - there is a staircase inside for tourists to descend.
4. The capital and largest city is Mexico City, which is the largest city in North America - it is larger than New York. It was built on a lake, so now it is sinking 15-20cm a year, which is threatening the infrastructure and historic architecture.
5. The oldest university in North America is also in Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), was founded in 1551 by Charles V, a holy Roman Emperor.
6. In Mexico, it is illegal to play the National Anthem incorrectly. Get it wrong and you could face a fine and/or have to issue an apology to the country.
7. On February 19, 1913, Mexico had three different presidents in the space of one hour. The middle one of the three, Pedro Lascurain, held the post for an estimated 26 minutes, the shortest presidential term on record.
8. The Mexican Flag is made up of three vertical stripes - the Green stripe stands for hope, the white stripe represents purity and unity, and the red stripe represents the Blood of the nation’s heroes. There is a picture of an eagle eating a snake in the middle of the flag - in the fourteenth century, a group of Chichmecas (warrior nomads) called the Aztecs (or Mexicas) settled in Mexico when they saw an eagle (representing the Sun) standing on a cactus (a symbol of the heart) holding a Snake (a symbol of the Earth or Quetzalcoatl).
9. The border between Mexico and the USA is the second largest border in the world (only the U.S.-Canadian border is longer). The US state of Texas was once part of Mexico, but declared independence from it.
10. Although Football is the most popular sport (Mexico's only gold medal at the 2012 Olympics was for football) its national sport is bullfighting. Mexico is home to the biggest bullfighting ring in the world, the Plaza de Toros, which seats about 50,000 people.

19th November: Monaco

Today is the National Day of Monaco. Here are ten facts about this tiny country that you may not know:

1. It's the second smallest country in the world after Vatican City with an area of 2.02 km2 (0.78 sq mi), which is smaller than Central Park in New York. It has a population of about 36,371, making it the most densely populated country in the world.
2. Its citizens are healthy and wealthy. Monaco has the world's highest life expectancy at nearly 90 years, the world's highest GDP, the world's most expensive real estate market, the world's lowest poverty rate and the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world. About 30% of the population are millionaires.
3. The name Monaco is derived from the Greek Monoikos, meaning "single house" or "living apart", which comes from a myth that Hercules passed through Monaco and ousted all the other gods, so his temple was the only one in the area.
4. The royal family of Monaco are the Grimaldis, who have ruled, with a few breaks, since 1297. In that year, Francesco Grimaldi, known as "Il Malizia" (translated from Italian either as "The Malicious One" or "The Cunning One"), and his men captured the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco while dressed as a Franciscan monk. By coincidence, the word for monk in Italian is monaco. He was evicted four years later by Genoa but eventually the Grimaldi family bought the area from Aragon.
5. The current ruler is Albert II, who came to the throne on 31 March 2005. His father was Rainier III, who married movie star Grace Kelly.
6. Monaco is famous for its casino, which has featured in several James Bond films. It was set up originally as a way for the Grimaldi family to raise money during the time of Napoleon III. It wasn't a great success and was sold to French casino magnates François and Louis Blanc for 1.7 million francs. People who live in Monaco are strictly forbidden from gambling or visiting the casino.
7. It's also famous for its Grand Prix which is held every year, not on a race track, but through the city streets. The circuit is incredibly narrow and tight and its tunnel, tight corners and elevation changes make it arguably the most demanding Formula One track. Driver Nelson Piquet once compared driving the circuit to "riding a bicycle around your living room". Nevertheless, since the race started in 1929, it has only had one fatality, Lorenzo Bandini, who crashed, burned and died three days later from his injuries in 1967. Aryton Senna holds the record for the most wins, having come first in the Monaco F1 Grand Prix six times.
8. The Monaco Marathon is the only marathon in the world to pass through three separate countries - Monaco, France and Italy.
9. The highest point in the country is at the access to the Patio Palace residential building (Jardin Exotique district) from Moyenne Corniche street at 164.4 metres (539 feet) above sea level.
10. The national Flag of Monaco is almost identical to the flag of Indonesia, with two bands of red and white. It differs only in the proportions.

18th November: Latvia Independence Day

Today is Latvia Independence Day. Here are ten things you might not know about Latvia.

1. The capital and largest city is Riga (pictured), which is also the largest city in the Baltic states, and has the busiest airport in the region.
2. Latvia has one of the oldest Flags in the world. Although officially adopted in 1922, it was adapted from a banner which was flown as early as the 13th century. It is red with a white stripe across the middle. Some say the red represents the fact that the Latvian people are willing to shed Blood for their country if necessary. Others say it represents a Latvian leader who was mortally wounded in battle and wrapped in a white sheet, which became stained with his blood.
3. Latvia's highest point is Gaiziņkalns, 311.6 m (1,022 ft). Most of Latvia's territory is less than 100 m (330 ft) above sea level.
4. Latvia has over 12,500 rivers, which stretch for 38,000 km (24,000 mi). The longest river in Latvia is the Gauja, 452 km (281 mi). The longest river flowing through Latvia is the Daugava, which has a total length of 1,005 km (624 mi), of which 352 km (219 mi) is in Latvia.
5. The white wagtail is the national bird of Latvia. Oak and linden are Latvia's national trees; the Daisy is its national flower. Its national insect is the two-spot ladybird.
6. Uljana Semjonova is a Basketball player who played for TTT Riga. She is notable for her height - six feet eleven inches (2.10m) and being the first woman from outside the US to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In international competition, she never lost a game. She is also known for having the largest feet ever in women's basketball, taking a men's size 21 shoe.
7. Latvia also has its own Crocodile Dundee. His name is Arvid Blumenthal and he was born in Dundaga, Latvia in 1925. He emigrated to Australia because he loved hunting and exploring. He poached crocodiles, studied the Aborigines and dug for opals and books were written about his adventures. He might even be the inspiration for the character of Crocodile Dundee.
8. Latvian scientists and inventors gave us citric acid, mass production of fertilizer, contributions to rocket science from Friedrich Zander, who is credited for the design of the first liquid-fuelled rocket to be launched in the Soviet Union; and finally, Jacob Davis, who emigrated to the USA from Latvia in 1868, and became a tent maker. A woman asked him to make some trousers for her husband who was very large. He used Copper rivets to reinforce the trousers and later approached Levi Strauss to share the patent on this method - so a Latvian man is responsible for Blue jeans.
9. A popular Latvian drink is Riga Black Balsam. A pharmacist created it in the 18th century when he mixed twenty-four different ingredients, including raspberry, nutmeg, birch bud and bilberry into oak barrels. A punch is made by combining one part black balsam with four parts blackcurrant juice, and a pinch of clove. This is mixed with vodka.
10. Latvia is one of only 3 countries in the world, along with Canada and Finland, where ice hockey is the most popular sport.