1 June: Kentucky

On this date in 1792, Kentucky was admitted to the union, becoming the 15th state. 10 things you might not know about Kentucky:

1. Experts disagree on how the state got its name. They do agree the name is of Native American origin, but which tribe and which word is open for debate. The three contenders are: the Wyandot name for the area, Kah-ten-tah-teh, which translates as “Land of Tomorrow”; the Shawnee name for the area, Kain-tuck-ee, meaning “At the Head of the River”; or the Iroquoian or Mohawk word Kentucke meaning “among the meadows.”
2. It used to be a county in Virginia, established in 1776. However, the state capital, Richmond, was so far away that the people of Kentucky County didn't feel it served them adequately and started angling to go it alone, finally granted in 1792.
3. The state capital is Frankfort, which became capital in 1792 after pledging more manpower toward the construction of a statehouse than any other city. The first settlement in what is now Kentucky was Harrodstown (now Harrodsburg), which was founded in 1774. It was named after James Harrod who led a team of area surveyors.
4. It's nicknamed the Bluegrass state after a type of grass which grows there. It's usually Green, like any other grass, but in spring it produces bluish buds which make fields of it look Blue. This in turn gave rise to the state Music – Bluegrass Music. This became popular when a singer named Bill Monroe took traditional European music and made it faster, added different instruments such as the banjo and mandolin and sang with a voice which was a “high lonesome sound.”
5. The state tree was once the Kentucky coffee tree, but this changed in 1976 and it's now the tulip tree. The state motto is "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"; the state animal is the grey squirrel; the state fish: Kentucky spotted bass; state fruit: blackberry; state butterfly: viceroy; state drink: Milk; state flower: goldenrod; state gemstone: freshwater pearl; state musical instrument: Appalachian dulcimer; state dance: clogging. There are two state songs: My Old Kentucky Home, and a Bluegrass state song, Blue Moon of Kentucky.
6. Bourbon Whiskey is a big thing here. In fact, there are more barrels of the stuff currently ageing in cellars than there are people living in the state.
7. 17 square miles of Kentucky isn't actually physically attached to the rest of the state at all. This was the result of a surveying error in the late 18th century. It's now known as the Kentucky Bend, and is located in an oxbow bend of the Mississippi River at the state’s south-westernmost point. It connects with Tennessee directly to the south, but not with the rest of Kentucky at all. There are about 17 people living there who conduct most of their day to day business in Tennessee but when it comes to voting, they have to make a 40 mile trip to get into Kentucky.
8. Another anomaly is that the most fertile land in the state is in Barren County.
9. Some of the things Kentucky is home to: the oldest continuously held horse race in the country (Kentucky Derby); the world’s largest Fireworks display (Thunder Over Louisville, the opening ceremony for the former); the world’s longest cave (Mammoth Cave, 400 miles which have been explored and much more which hasn't); the first commercial oil well; the first commercial winery in the USA (opened in 1799 near Lexington and is called First Vineyard); Middlesboro, the only city in the United States built within a meteor crater; The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant (a service station opened by Harland Sanders in 1930, in the town of Corbin); and the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world ($6 billion worth at Fort Knox).
10. Famous people from Kentucky include Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union, and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy; Mildred and Patty Hill, who wrote the tune to “Happy Birthday to you”; actors George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa McBride (The Walking Dead, and also Chris Hardwick who hosts its companion show, Talking Dead); Film Director John Carpenter; boxer Muhammad Ali; singers Billy Ray Cyrus and The Everley Brothers; mystic Edgar Cayce and Casey Jones the railway engineer.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

31 May: 151

Today is the 151st day of the year. 10 things you didn't know about the number 151.

1. 151 is the 36th prime number, and a twin prime with 149. 151 is also a palindromic prime.
2. Bacardi 151 was a brand of highly alcoholic Rum named for its alcohol proof level of 151, that is, 75.5% alcohol by volume. It was discontinued in 2016.
3. There are 151 Pokémon in the original set.
4. 151 is the atomic number of a theoretical element called unquintunum.
5. London bus route 151 runs between Shotfield and Worcester Park Station.
6. Psalm 151 is said to have been written by David after killing Goliath. It was quoted in its entirety by Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia during his first address to his Council of State and has been set to music several times, including: Péter Eötvös' "Psalm 151 – In Memoriam Frank Zappa"; a track on the 1989 Door into Summer album by Christian rock band Jacob's Trouble; and it was the title of a song by the Polish band Kult; and Ezra Furman on her 2018 LP Transangelic Exodus, even though when she wrote the song she had no idea there even was a Psalm 151.
7. 151 Abundantia is a main belt asteroid discovered by Johann Palisa in 1875, named for Abundantia, a Roman goddess of luck, chosen to celebrate the fact that a lot of asteroids had been discovered in the 1870s.
8. 151 is a Manchester company founded in 1997 which produces household, DIY, art and craft, gardening and automotive products.
9. The A151 is a relatively short road located entirely in the county of Lincolnshire. Parts of it are thought to be two thousand or more years old. In the 1920s it was a turnpike road.
10. In numerology, a person with 151 in their chart is someone who may be drawn to study both science and spirituality. They may be seen as a leader, although they don't necessarily seek out the role, but rather allow people to follow them as they pursue their own goals on their own terms. They enjoy exploring old things such as old houses or castles.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

30 May: Canary Islands Day

30 May is Canary Islands Day, the anniversary of the first session of the Parliament of the Canary Islands. 10 things you might not know about the Canaries:

1. They may be a region belonging to Spain, but they're actually much closer to Africa. They are just 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the African continent, but they are 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles) from the Spanish mainland. The islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean in an area called Macaronesia.
2. They are volcanic islands, formed by volcanic eruptions. Some of the islands still have volcanoes today. The most recent volcanic eruption was Tenerife’s Mount Teide in 1909. Mount Teide is the highest point in all the Spanish territories, including the Pyrenees, and is the third highest volcano in the world after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii. In Lanzarote, there's a restaurant called El Diablo which uses a hole dug over a volcano to cook food. The grill's temperature reaches 400°C and uses no energy.
3. The canary bird was named after the islands, not the other way round. The birds originate in Macronesia. The islands were named for a different type of creature – Dogs. The Latin word for dog is canaria. No-one knows for sure why this was. Pliny the elder noted that Gran Canaria contained "vast multitudes of dogs of very large size". That's one theory. Another is that the islands were home to large numbers of Seals, also known as "sea dogs". Or it might be because the first human inhabitants, the Guanches, used to worship dogs.
4. Before any humans arrived at all, the islands were inhabited by giant lizards, Rats and tortoises. The Guanches arrived from North Africa at some point. Modern scientists have concluded that they were related to Berbers. It is believed they arrived on the archipelago in the first millennium BC. The name of these people derives from guanchinet, which literally translated means "person of Tenerife".
5. The archipelago includes eight main islands: Tenerife (Capital: Santa Cruz de Tenerife), Fuerteventura (Capital: Puerto del Rosario), Gran Canaria (Capital: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Lanzarote (Capital Arrecife), La Palma (Capital: Santa Cruz de La Palma), La Gomera (Capital: San Sebastián), El Hierro (Capital: Valverde) and La Graciosa (Capital: Caleta de Sebo); plus many smaller islands, islets, and rocks. Tenerife is the largest, but even so you can drive around it in about three hours. Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria share the status as capital of the archipelago. This means the President of the Canaries has to move from one to the other every four years.
6. The canary bird is the official symbol of the islands along with the Phoenix canariensis palm. Each of the main islands has its own official symbols in addition. These are: El Hierro: El Hierro giant lizard and Juniperus phoenicea (Sabina); La Gomera: Paloma rabiche and Viñátigo; La Palma Graja and Canary Island pine; Tenerife: Tenerife blue chaffinch and Dracaena draco (Drago); Gran Canaria: Canary Mastiff and Euphorbia canariensis (Cardón); Fuerteventura: Canarian houbara and Cardón de Jandía; and Lanzarote: Blind Crab and Tabaiba dulce. The Arrorró or Himno de las Canarias by Teobaldo Power has been the official anthem of the Canary Islands since 2003.
7. The islands have some unique sports, including Canarian wrestling, in which opponents stand in an arena called a terrero and try to throw each other to the ground using strength and quick movements. The game of the sticks is another, a type of fencing using sticks. This probably originated when shepherds in olden times used to challenge each other with their walking sticks. Another is the shepherd's jump, which is a kid of pole vault over an open area. This was probably a skill shepherds developed to get around in the hills.
8. The islands also have their own whistling language. Or La Gomera does, at any rate. It's called ‘Silbo Gomero’ and is a whistling form of Castilian Spanish, used to convey announcements and news across the valleys.
9. It was at the battle for Santa Cruz in Tenerife that Nelson lost his arm in 1797.
10. The dramatic landscapes of the islands have made them sought after locations for films. Films made there include One Million Years BC, The Land That Time Forgot, Clash of the Titans, Fast & Furious 6 and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

29 May: 149

Today is the 149th day of the year. 10 things you might not know about the number 149:

1. 149 is the 35th prime number and is also an emirp, since its reverse, the number 941, is also a prime.
2. Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed whether a Tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. Even though a tomato is technically a fruit, the ruling was that it should be classified as a vegetable for import and customs purposes.
3. In London, the 149 Bus runs between Edmonton Green Bus Station and London Bridge Bus Station.
4. Stay High 149 (Wayne Roberts) was an American graffiti artist active on the New York Subway in the 1970s.
5. The Roman numeral for 149 is CXLIX. In Binary it's written 10010101.
6. 149 Medusa is a main-belt Asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer J. Perrotin in September 1875, and named after the Gorgon Medusa, the monster in Greek mythology with Snakes for hair.
7. The A149 runs along the North Norfolk coast from King's Lynn to Cromer passing through several small coastal villages and seaside resorts, hence it's known colloquially as "The Coast Road". The road departs from the coastline at Cromer and heads to the Norfolk Broads.
8. 149 is the atomic number of a theoretical element called unquadinonium. Symbol: Uqe.
9. British Airways Flight 149 between London and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was captured by Iraqi forces on 1 August 1, 1990.
10. In numerology 149 in a person's chart suggests a bubbly, sociable person who can talk about anything with anybody. They enjoy socialising but are also comfortable alone. They can seem to have no direction in life, since they value their personal freedom including the freedom to follow a whim. The person will fully focus on their whims while they last, although a curious nature will tempt them to investigate other things eventually.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

28 May: 10 William Pitt the Younger Quotes

Born on this date in 1759 was William Pitt the Younger. 10 things he said:

1. What I have now offered is meant merely for the sake of my country, for the simple question is: will you change your Ministers and keep the Empire, or keep your Ministers and lose the Kingdom?
2. Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
3. Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who posses it; and this I know, my lords: that where law ends, tyranny begins.
4. Poverty of course is no disgrace, but it is damned annoying.
5. Surely the principles of Christianity lead to action as well as meditation.
6. Don't talk to me about a man's being able to talk sense; everyone can talk sense. Can he talk nonsense?
7. The whole of your political conduct has been one continued series of weakness, temerity, despotism, ignorance, futility, negligence, blundering, and the most notorious senility, incapacity, and corruption.
8. These ministers will destroy the empire they were called upon to save, before the indignation of a great and suffering people can fall upon their heads, in the punishment which they deserve.
9. Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged heart.
10. Theoretical principals must sometimes give way for the sake of practical advantages.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

27 May: Tibet

On this date in 1951, Tibet was incorporated into China. Here are 10 things you might not know about Tibet:

1. These days, it's a part of China officially known as Xizang Autonomous Region, although it was once a country in its own right with a king, an empire and a national Flag. Today, it's a crime there to fly the national flag of Tibet.
2. The capital of the region is Lhasa. Other major cities include Shigatse Gyantse and Qamdo.
3. The English word Tibet dates back to the 18th century. It is thought to ultimately derive from a Turkish word which literally meant "The Heights".
4. Which is a pretty appropriate name, since it is pretty high up. The average height of a mountain here is 20,000ft. Even the lower parts of the region are so far above sea level that altitude sickness is an issue for visitors. When Tibet was a country, Lhasa was the highest capital city in the world (Now, that's La Paz, Bolivia). Tibet can still boast, however, that it has the world's highest mountain (Mount Everest), the world's highest road, the highest town (Whenzuan), the highest monastery, (Rongbuk), the highest railway (which travels so high so fast that passengers are given an Oxygen supply and there must be a doctor on board) and the world's highest Toilet.
5. One thing you won't find in Tibet is the world's highest KFC. Even though the Dalai Lama is living in exile in India, he wrote to KFC advising them against opening any outlets in Tibet because the mass slaughter of Chickens would not be acceptable to the people there.
6. Potala Palace in Tibet has been the official residence of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century until 1959. It's the highest palace in the world and now, a tourist attraction. However, it's not a place to visit on your first day in Tibet. It's so high up that unacclimatised people may well need oxygen and oxygen supplies aren't allowed because of the Fire risk.
7. Tourism may be an important part of the economy now, but foreigners weren't allowed to visit at all before the 1980s. Even now at least two different permits are required and tourists must be accompanied by a local guide.
8. 47% of the world’s population depends on fresh Water from Tibet. Tibet has the third largest store of water and ice in the world after the Arctic and Antarctic, and is sometimes nicknamed the ‘third pole’. Six of Asia’s major rivers originate here, including the Mekong, the Yangtze, and the Indus.
9. The Dog breeds pug and Lhasa Apso both originate from Tibet. Pugs were often brought home by sailors as gifts for their lady friends who would refer to them as “Little Turks.” Lhasa Apsos were initially bred as indoor monastery sentinel dogs. A pair found their way to America in 1933 as a gift from the 13th Dalai Lama.
10. In the 1800s the British weren't allowed to go in and explore Tibet, so they sent Indian men disguised as pilgrims to map the area for them. As part of their disguise, these men had to train themselves to walk at precisely 2,000 steps per mile.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

26 May: Kent Day

Today is Kent Day. This date was chosen because it is the feast day of Saint Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. 10 things you might not know about Kent:

1. The name probably comes from a British Celtic word for 'coastal district,' 'corner-land' or 'land on the edge'. The Romans called it Cantia or Canticum. A modern nickname is 'The Garden of England'. This was coined by Henry VIII after eating a particularly delicious bowl of Cherries from Kent.
2. While on the subject of fruit, the Strawberries served at Wimbledon are grown in Kent, and are selected to strict standards. Each berry must be between 25mm-45mm in diameter, fully red all over and without a single defect. Where else but the Garden of England to keep the National Fruit Collection? The world’s largest fruit collection, which comprises 4,000 trees is at Brogdale. It's part of an international project to protect plant genetic resources. Kent is the main place for Hazelnut production with the Kentish cobnut one of the most famous varieties, introduced to the area around 1830. Cheap labour and the ease at which the produce could be transported to London by train led to over 7,000 acres of hazelnut orchards in Kent by 1913.
3. Herne Bay in Kent is thought to be the birthplace of the Horse, because the world's oldest horse fossil was found there. The fossil is 54 million years old.
4. According to Julius Caesar, “Of all these (British tribes), by far the most civilised are they who dwell in Kent, which is entirely a maritime region, and who differ but little from the Gauls in their customs.” Caesar landed in what is modern day Kent in 55 and 54 BC.
5. I found several references to Dungeness being Britain's only officially recognised desert. I found just as many saying that claim had been refuted by the Met Office. It may not be a desert but it does have largest shingle beach in Europe, which along with its plant life, has made it a place of special scientific interest.
6. Kent used to have two cities: Canterbury and Rochester. Rochester lost its city status due to the merging of local councils in 1998. Other places of interest include the UK's smallest town, Fordwich, which in 2011 had a population of just 381 people, making it the smallest community to be served by a town council. Its town hall is also the smallest in the UK. Kent has one of only three towns in the UK to have been granted the prefix "Royal": Royal Tunbridge Wells. Edward VII granted the prefix in 1909 in recognition of royal connections dating back to Stuart times. (The other two, for information, are Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Wootton Bassett.) Sevenoaks is named after seven Oak trees which were on the Vine around AD 800. Today, there are actually eight, with the trees having been replaced several times over the centuries. After the storm in 1987, there was just one left standing. There are some interesting villages, too. Chiddingstone has a 'chiding stone', rumoured to have been used by ancient druids as an altar, or a place where judgments were made and punishments handed out. This is thought to be where the name comes from. The other special thing about this village is that, apart from the church and the castle, it's owned by the National Trust. Finally, Pluckley, near Ashford, once held the Guinness World Record for being the most haunted village in Britain, boasting 12 different ghosts. Guinness have discontinued this record now, so if you live in a village with 13 ghosts, too bad.
7. Kentish Man or Man of Kent? Depends which side of the river Medway they live on. A Kentish Man (or Maid) is from the north side and the Man of Kent (or Maid of Kent) is from the south.
8. Kent has seen many firsts in the field of transport. The first motor show in Britain (and possibly the world) was held in the Agricultural Show Grounds in 1895. It was called the Horseless Carriage Exhibition and had five exhibits including two cars, a fire engine, a steam carriage and a tricycle. In East Peckham, the first speeding fine was handed out to one Walter Arnold who was convicted of travelling at 8 miles an hour by a local very puffed out policeman who'd had to pedal after him to catch him. The fine was one shilling (5p) plus costs. The very first White lines on the road were painted on the London to Folkestone Road in Ashford, in 1914. The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, fondly known as the Crab and Winkle Line was the first railway. Kent is also home to the first aircraft factory in the world. Short Brothers opened on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909. They produced an initial batch of 6 aircraft, making the Short Brothers the first aircraft manufacturing company in the world to undertake volume production of an aircraft design.
9. There are some literary connections, too. Aside from London, Rochester is the place which features most often in Charles Dickens's books. John Buchan wrote The 39 Steps in Kent while he was sick in bed with stomach ulcers, to distract himself from the pain. There were 78 steps from his villa to the beach and this is thought to have been his inspiration. It's not known why he reduced the number of steps!
10. Kent is said to have more castles and historic houses than any other county in England. It also has the first Lighthouse to use Electricity. South Foreland Lighthouse near Dover first used electricity in 1859 – two decades before the lightbulb was invented. It was also where the first transmission of ship-to-shore and international radio messages took place. Also to be found in Kent is the smallest church in England that is still in regular use. St Edmund’s Chapel, in Dover was built in 1262, and is about 28 feet by 14 feet with walls two feet thick.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

25 May: National Tap Dance Day

Today is National Tap Dance Day. 10 things you might not know about tap dancing:

1. Why today? Because it's the birthday of Bill Bojangles Robinson, famous African-American tap dancer, who was born on this day in 1878. He's perhaps best known for dancing with Shirley Temple in the musical Stormy Weather. While he was often criticised for going along with racial stereotypes in his performances, in his private life he was a campaigner for African American police officers and soldiers. Incidentally, the song, Mr Bojangles, isn't about him. In the song, the street performer is a heavy drinker whose Dog died. Robinson didn't smoke or drink and never owned a dog.
2. Some other famous tap dancers include Sammy Davis Jr, who learned to tap dance at the age of 4; Gregory Hines, an American dancer who starred in White Nights and Tap; Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and the Nicholas Brothers.
3. Tap dancing has its origins in any number of ethnic dance styles originating in Africa, Scotland and Ireland. Tap dancing also incorporates moves from Waltz and swing.
4. The earliest tap dancers were African American slaves who would dance in bare, callused Feet. Later, dancers would nail pennies to their shoes to make noise.
5. Today you can get tap shoes with metal taps screwed to them. It's even possible, with modern tap Shoes, to tighten or loosen the screws holding the taps in order to adjust the tone of the dance, or create sound effects.
6. Soft shoe dancing is tap dancing without the use of metal taps. This style would use sliding of the feet as well as foot tapping. Sometimes dancers would sprinkle sand on the stage to enhance the sliding sound.
7. Tap dancing can be used to communicate. Dancers could perform specific steps called time steps, which would tell the orchestra how fast to play, and to what rhythm. It's also possible to use a tap dance to communicate in Morse Code. (Now there's a story idea. What are the chances of a person in the audience knowing the Morse code for "Help, I'm being held prisoner and forced to tap dance?")
8. Here's a list of just a few tap dance steps: the shuffle, shuffle ball change, hop shuffle, flap, cramproll, buffalo, Maxi Ford, Irish, waltz clog, the paddle roll, the paradiddle, stomp, brushes, scuffs, spanks, riffs, hot steps, heel clicks, New Yorkers, Shiggy Bops, drawbacks, and chugs.
9. The film Happy Feet features a tap dancing Penguin.
10. At time of writing some tap dancing records are as follows: The largest tap dance lesson: 445 people were taught to tap dance by Julie Dorman in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 21 September 2018. The most taps in one minute was 1,163 by Anthony Morigerato in Albany, New York, on 23 June 2011. Roy Castle, host of the BBC TV show Record Breakers, achieved one million taps in 23 hours and 44 minutes at the Guinness World of Records exhibition in London, UK, on 1 November 1985.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

24 May: 144

Today is the 144th day of the year. 10 things you didn't know about the number 144:

1. 144 is the square of 12, a dozen dozen, also known as a gross, a word which may have originated from French (grosse) or Latin (grossus) meaning thick. A dozen gross (1728) is called a great gross.
2. 144 is the twelfth Fibonacci number, and the largest one to also be a square.
3. 144 is the smallest number to have 15 divisors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16, 18, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 144.
4. It's the telephone number for directory assistance in Israel; for medical emergencies in Austria and Switzerland; and for animals in danger in the Netherlands.
5. The wall of New Jerusalem, shown by the seventh angel in the book of Revelation was 144 cubits long.
6. It's the atomic number of unquadquadium, a theoretical chemical element.
7. Mahjong is usually played with a set of 144 tiles.
8. Tupolev Tu-144 was a Russian supersonic aircraft, sometimes referred to as "The Russian Concorde".
9. Asteroid 144 Vibilia was discovered on 3 June 1875, by Christian Peters at Litchfield Observatory of the Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He named it after Vibilia, the Roman goddess of travelling, because he had recently returned from a journey across the world to observe the transit of Venus.
10. In numerology 144 is a number which relates to humanitarianism, tolerance and exploration. Those affected by the number are pragmatic and methodic; they think through the stages needed to achieve their goals and they get things done.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.

23 May: The Houses of Parliament

Sir Charles Barry, English architect, designer of the Houses of Parliament, was born on this date in 1795. He was born in Bridge Street, Westminster, opposite where Big Ben stands today. 10 things you might not know about his most famous building:

1. The Houses of Parliament may be what we normally call the building but the correct title is The Palace of Westminster. That's because it's actually owned by the monarch, and was, in its early days, a royal residence. The first royal palace constructed on the site dated from the 11th century. Westminster was the primary residence of the Kings of England the royal apartments were destroyed by a Fire in 1512.
2. The previous Palace of Westminster burned down in October 1834 due to a stove used for burning the Exchequer's stockpile of tally sticks overheating and catching fire. The only parts of that building to survive and be incorporated into the new one were Westminster Hall (which was saved by fire-fighters. A change in the direction of the wind also helped), the Jewel Tower, the Undercroft Chapel and the Cloisters and Chapter House of St Stephen's. Parliament was almost rehoused in Buckingham Palace. King William IV offered the palace to Parliament because he didn't like it. However, it was deemed unsuitable for that purpose, and in any case, Westminster was known as the seat of Parliament – so a new building on the same site was the preferred option.
3. The style of the building is Gothic Revival style, specifically inspired by the English Perpendicular Gothic style of the 14th–16th centuries. Sir Charles Barry was primarily a classical architect, and so he was helped by Augustus Pugin, a leading authority on Gothic architecture. They didn't always agree on what the final result should look like. Pugin once commented on Barry's design: "All Grecian, sir; Tudor details on a classic body". Construction started in 1840 and lasted for 30 years. Neither of the principal architects lived to see it finished, and the interior decoration wasn't completed until well into the 20th century.
4. The stone used was Anston, a sandy-coloured limestone quarried in the South Yorkshire village of the same name, and also in Nottinghamshire. Charles Barry chose it, after extensive tours of Britain looking at buildings and quarries, because it was cheaper, because it would be easy to transport using England's waterways, and because it "could be supplied in blocks up to four feet thick and lent itself to elaborate carving". Cheap stone which can be easily carved, however, is also easily eroded away, a problem which became obvious as early as 1849, but it was the early 20th century before anything was done about it. Clipsham stone, a honey-coloured limestone from Rutland was used to replaced the damaged stone.
5. The Palace of Westminster has over four floors, 100 staircases, 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) of corridors and 1,100 rooms, including the Commons and Lords Chambers, The Queen's Robing Room (which, as the name suggests, is where the Queen dons her ceremonial robes for the State Opening of Parliament), the Royal Gallery, numerous committee rooms, libraries and bars (which will stay open all hours when Parliament is sitting), a gym, two souvenir shops, a hair salon and a rifle range. The floor area is 112,476 m2 (1,210,680 sq ft)
6. Westminster Hall is the oldest room, built in 1097 by King William II. When it was finished, it was the largest hall in Europe. It was the venue for coronation banquets, until William IV, abandoned that tradition because he was a bit of a tight-wad and thought it was too expensive. The Hall is used as a place for lying in state during state and ceremonial funerals. While it is usually only monarchs and their consorts who lie in state here, occasionally non-royals have been granted the honour. Only two did in the 20th century: Frederick Sleigh Roberts in 1914 and Winston Churchill in 1965.
7. There are three main towers. The tallest is the Victoria Tower, 98.5-metre (323 ft) tall, at the south-western corner. It was originally called The King's Tower after William IV but was alter re-named to honour Queen Victoria. Barry designed it to look like a castle keep with a portcullis. On its completion in 1858, it was the tallest secular building in the world. It has the 15 m (49 ft) high archway known as the Sovereign's Entrance used by the monarch on state occasions; and houses the Parliamentary Archives. These contain copies of all Acts of Parliament since 1497, and other important documents like the original Bill of Rights and the death warrant of King Charles I. Needless to say, that's a lot of pieces of paper – more that three million. 8.8 kilometres (5.5 miles) of steel shelves spread over 12 floors is needed to house them. It is on this tower, too, that the Flag is flown. Usually the Union flag, except when the Queen is there, when it's the Royal Standard. The most famous is Elizabeth Tower, better known as Big Ben, which is slightly shorter at 96 metres (315 ft). It has been known as Elizabeth Tower since the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. Finally, at 91 metres (299 ft), there's the octagonal Central Tower in the centre of the building, which one Dr. David Boswell Reid insisted should be put there to house a chimney for ventilation purposes and forced Barry to re-work some of the design; this was "the first occasion when mechanical services had a real influence on architectural design".
8. The Palace of Westminster was hit by bombs 14 times during The Blitz. An incendiary bomb hit the chamber of the House of Commons and set it on fire; another set the roof of Westminster Hall alight. A bomb struck the Lords Chamber, but went through the floor without exploding. Another damaged the clock tower, blowing out all the glass on one of the clock's faces, but didn't damage the clock, which kept calm and carried on keeping accurate time in true British fashion. The statue of Richard the Lionheart was lifted from its pedestal by another blast, its upheld sword was bent. This image was used as a symbol of the strength of democracy, "which would bend but not break under attack". However, 70 or so years later, it looks like it might only take a bunch of clowns and a virus to break it completely from within.
9. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia called the new palace "a dream in stone".
10. The Palace of Westminster is a Grade 1 listed building and is again in need of extensive refurbishment. In 2012 a feasibility study chose the option of keeping the building open while the work was done, but when they learned how much that option was going to cost (£7.1 billion) the House of Commons voted to vacate the Palace of Westminster for the duration of refurbishment, which may take up to six years, starting in 2025 (Of course they could have easily afforded their preferred option had they not blown even more dosh than that on Brex-shit and track and trace systems that didn't work). The House of Commons will probably be temporarily housed in Richmond House in Whitehall and the House of Lords in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Parliament Square.

My Books:

If you like stories about:

• Superheroes
• Psychic detectives
• Romance
• Alternative dimensions
• Time travel 
• Secrets
• Friendship
• Family relationships
• Ghosts
• Adventure
• Crime

If you want to read about superheroes who aren't the usual Marvel/DC staples, who don't all live in the USA.

If you like quirky tales.

If you like to support independent self published authors.

Check out my books page.