3 May: 123

Welcome to day 123 of 2026. 10 fun facts about 123.

1. 123 Brunhild is a main-belt asteroid discovered by C. H. F. Peters in 1872, and named after Brünnehilde, a Valkyrie in Norse mythology.

2. The Pittsburgh band Animal Scream and Edinburgh band Clouds both previously went by the name 1-2-3.

3. It’s the atomic number of the hypothetical chemical element Unbitrium.

4. One, Two, Three is a 1961 American political comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettő, három by Ferenc Molnár.

5. 123 Money Ltd, trading as 123.ie, is an Irish insurance company with registered offices in Dublin.

6. The year 123 was a common year starting on Thursday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Paetinus and Apronius. In this year, Housesteads Fort, Hadrian's Wall was built, north of Bardon Mill, and Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli was built.

7. London bus route 123 runs from Lordship Lane to Hainault Street.

8. In religion, 123 is associated with progress and the Holy Trinity, so it may be referred to as the Trinity of Progress or Triad of Progress.

9. The A123 is a road in London running between the A113 at Chigwell and the A13 at Lodge Avenue, Barking.

10. In numerology number 123 represents a harmonious family energy. Responsibilities are taken seriously, responsibilities to family most of all. Promises are not lightly given. It also resonates with self-reliance and independence so those influenced by the number will work to ensure their family is self-sufficient.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

3 May: J

The first Saturday of May is designated J Day by marijuana users who organise marches worldwide on this day. 10 things you might not know about the letter J.

1. Firstly, the reason why a day of cannabis activism is known as J day: because J is a slang term for a joint.

2. It’s the 10^th letter of the Latin alphabet and the fourth least used in the English language after Z, Q and X. That said it’s more common when it comes to personal names. Hence all of the main roles in the comedy show Absolutely Fabulous are played by actresses with names beginning with J: Jennifer, Joanna, June, Julia and Jane.

3. However, if your name begins with J you can’t do that thing where you spell out your name with element symbols as J doesn’t appear in the Periodic Table. Not in English, anyway. In German, the word for Iodine is Jod, and in German texts J is sometimes used as the symbol for Iodine.

4. In international licence plate codes, J stands for Japan.

5. Agent J is a character in the Men in Black films portrayed by Will Smith.

6. J is the narrator of Jerome K Jerome's novel Three Men in a Boat.

7. The tenth novel in Sue Grafton's "Alphabet mystery" series, published in 1993 is "J" Is for Judgment.

8. In the Metric system, J is the symbol for the joule, the SI derived unit for energy.

9. J has been used as a nickname for various music artists including a member of the K-Pop group STAYC, a solo Korean singer, a Japanese rock musician and American White Zombie guitarist Jay Yuenger. JJJ has been used to refer to Australian radio station Triple J; J. Jonah Jameson, a Marvel comics character; Jaren Jackson Jr., an American basketball player; and Jingjinji, a metropolitan region of China. It was also the production code for the 1971 Doctor Who serial The Dæmons.

10. In Morse code it’s .--- and in the NATO Phonetic alphabet, J is represented by Juliet.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

1 May: 121

1^st May is the 121^st day of the year. 10 facts about the number 121.

1. 121 is the atomic number of Unbiunium, also known as eka-actinium, a hypothetical chemical element with the symbol Ubu. It has attracted attention because of predictions that it may be in the island of stability. Its position in the periodic table suggests it would have similar properties to lanthanum and actinium.

2. The A121 is a road in England connecting Waltham Cross and Woodford Wells. The main settlements on it are Waltham Abbey and Loughton. it passes through the densest part of Epping Forest.

3. 121 (Eagle) Sqn is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron was one of three Eagle Squadrons manned by American volunteers during the Second World War.

4. The year 121 was a common year starting on Tuesday, known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Augur. In 121, Construction of the Temple of Venus and Roma began in Rome, and it saw the death of Cai Lun, Chinese inventor of Paper and the papermaking process.

5. London Bus route 121 runs from Enfield Island Village to Turnpike Lane Station.

6. 121 Hermione is a binary Asteroid discovered in 1872 by J. C. Watson and named after Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen in Greek mythology.

7. 121 is a song by Robert Forster from the album Calling from a Country Phone.

8. *121# is a 2018 film directed by V. Anand and starring Vinay Chandar, Sounil Deshmukh, Naveen Kumar Gowda. It’s about a group of friends who meet up after a long time for a party and accidentally commit a crime.

9. 121 is the square of 11.

10. In numerology, 121’s energy is methodical and focussed. People under its influence will work on one project at a time and see it through to the end. They are drawn to step-by-step instructions for reaching life-enhancing goals.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

30 April: World's Fairs

On this date in 1939, the New York World's Fair opened. 10 facts about World’s Fairs.

1. A world’s fair is a global exhibition event with the purpose of showcasing the achievements of the nations taking part. They generally last three to six months and are held at specific locations. World’s fair is the term most often used in America. In Europe and Asia they are called international (or universal) expositions/exhibitions. Since 1958, the word Expo has been used. Since 1995, it has been ruled there must be a gap of at least five years between them.

2. There can, however, be one Specialised Expo in between. These are smaller and shorter, lasting between three weeks and three months, and are usually focussed on a theme, for example, "Future Energy" (Expo 2017 Astana), "The Living Ocean and Coast" (Expo 2012 Yeosu), or "Leisure in the Age of Technology" (Brisbane, Expo '88). The first of these was held in Stockholm in 1936.

3. The first World’s Fair as we know it was held in Prague in 1791. It was timed to coincide with the coronation of Leopold II as king of Bohemia, and was was held in the Clementinum, a historic complex of buildings in Prague which houses the National Library of the Czech Republic. The first in the UK was in 1851 and was Prince Albert’s idea. It was called the "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations" and held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park.

4. There have been three distinct eras. The Industrialisation era, between 1851–1938, where the exhibitions showed off advances in technology and were big trade fairs. From 1939 in New York they began to shift in emphasis towards cultural themes and social progress. 1939’s theme was "Building the World of Tomorrow". In 1988, the emphasis shifted again and since then they have been a platform for improving and promoting the images of the nations taking part.

5. There is a central organising body called the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) which is based in Paris.

6. At time of writing, the most recent World’s Fair was in Osaka, Japan in 2025 and the next one will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2030. There will be a Specialised Expo in Belgrade in 2027 with the theme of “Play for Humanity – Sport and Music for All”.

7. Buildings and structures are often erected for World’s Fairs, generally meant to be temporary and dismantled when the show is over. However, there are several which have survived and become much loved attractions in the host cities. The most famous of these is perhaps the Eiffel Tower built for the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889. The Crystal Palace in London has survived a major fire and relocation to South London and Seattle’s Space Needle was built for the 1962 event. Brisbane’s Skyneedle was built for Expo ‘88 and is still there.

8. The Epcot Centre in the Walt Disney World Resort, near Orlando, Florida began as a concept of a permanent World’s Fair and became the new home for many of the exhibitions and rides created for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. Some of them are still operational today.

9. Innovations first presented at World’s Fairs include Ferris wheels (Chicago, 1893); the new Ford Mustang (1964); IMAX movies (Osaka 1970) and cherry coke (Tennessee, 1982).

10. A US president was assassinated at a World’s Fair in 1901 in Buffalo, New York. During a reception, President William McKinley was shot twice in the stomach by an anarchist and died of gangrene eight days later. He was operated on at the time by an impromptu team at the expo’s small medical facility, which wasn’t equipped to deal with such major surgery. They weren’t able to locate one of the bullets and had to leave it in, and that’s what killed McKinley. Ironically, on display at that very Expo was a device which could have saved him – the X Ray machine, but nobody thought to use it.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

29 April: Condors

On this date in 1988, the first condor conceived in captivity was born at San Diego Wild Animal Park. 10 facts about condors:

1. Condors are part of the Vulture family, and there are two species: the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) and the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus).

2. They are among the largest flying Birds. The Andean condor is the third heaviest after bustards and albatrosses. They have a wingspan of up 3.2 meters/10.5 feet.

3. Because they are so heavy, they prefer to live in windy areas so they can get a helping hand from air currents while aloft.

4. Unlike most birds of prey, females are smaller than males and their eyes are Red, while males have Brown eyes.

5. They mate for life and raise chicks together. They need to co-operate because they lay their eggs on the edge of a cliff rather than build a nest so have to divide the tasks of guarding the eggs and finding food. The incubation period is 54-58 days.

6. The chicks take 6-8 years to reach full maturity. Condors are long lived birds which can live up to 50 years in the wild. A condor in the Jardin d'Essai du Hamma in Algiers lived to be 100.

7. Their plumage is Black apart from a ring of White feathers on the neck. The birds keep these feathers clean. Their heads are virtually bald which is believed to be a hygiene adaptation. Since they can soar at up to 5,500 meters, the sun’s rays act as a sterilising agent.

8. The Andean condor is Chile’s national bird and is part of the country’s coat of arms. It features in mythology as representative of a sun deity and is a symbol of power and health.

9. There’s also a popular Chilean comic book character who is a condor. His name is Condorito and he’s been around since 1949.

10. The collective nouns for a bunch of condors is a condo or a scarcity.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

28 April: Poetry

Today is Great Poetry Reading Day, so here are 10 things you might not know about poetry.

1. The word "poetry" comes from the Greek term poiesis, which means "making”. “Poem” comes from the Greek poíēma, meaning a “thing made.” Incidentally, Prose comes from the Latin “prosa oratio,” meaning “straightforward.”

2. Metrophobia is the fear of poetry. Metromania is the compulsion to write poetry.

3. Some say poetry has been around for longer than the written word. Poems were used as a way to remember genealogy, laws, and oral history; they would also have been used in religious rituals or for casting spells.

4. The oldest surviving epic poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh which dates from the 3rd millennium BC in Sumer, now part of Iraq.

5. The longest poem in the world is the Mahabharata, an Indian epic poem dating from around the 4th century BC. It has about 1.8 million words.

6. The oldest surviving love poem is written by an unknown author on a clay tablet about 4,000 years ago. It was written for king Shu-Sin to recite to his bride during a virility ritual.

7. The poet considered to be the father of poetry is a bit more recent. It’s Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400), also dubbed the father of English literature, and the first poet to be buried in Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey.

8. The first poet laureate of England was Ben Johnson in 1616. However, it didn't become an official royal office until 1668 when John Dryden was appointed. A poet laureate’s job is writing poems for national occasions.

9. The seemingly modern words “unfriend” and “muggle” first appeared in a poem written in 1275. It was called Brut and the poet’s name was Layamon.

10. There has been a study which found that studying poetry can improve a person’s prose writing, because it means learning about rhythmic structure, vocabulary, formal words vs. colloquial words, visual imagery and sense of sound.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/

27 April: Ulysses Grant quotes

Ulysses (Simpson) Grant, US general with the Union Army, was born on this date in 1822. 10 things he said:

1. If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.

2. In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.

3. The most confident critics are generally those who know the least about the matter criticized.

4. The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.

5. Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace.

6. I will not move my army without onions.

7. It is men who wait to be selected, and not those who seek, from whom we may expect the most efficient service.

8. The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most.

9. There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.

10. I never knew what to do with a paper except to put it in a side pocket or pass it to a clerk who understood it better than I did.

I also write novels and short stories. If you like superheroes, psychic detectives and general weirdness you might enjoy them. 

Check out my works of fiction at https://juliehowlinauthor.wordpress.com/my-books/