24 June

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 24 June:

1. On this date in 1994, Abner Kriller, of Albany, Australia came to a rather sticky end. He was chewing Bubble gum while driving, and blew a giant bubble which burst and stuck to his glasses, blinding him. He ran his car off the road, plunged down a hill and was killed.
2. In 1497, explorer John Cabot landed on the eastern coast of Canada and claimed the land for England. The exact location of his landing is uncertain, but scholars believe it was probably on Cape Bonavista in Newfoundland.
3. Another significant day for Canada was this date in 1880. It saw the first performance of O Canada, the song that would become Canada’s National Anthem, at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français.
4. In 1509, Henry VIII was crowned king of England. On the same date in 1540 he divorced his 4th wife, Anne of Cleves.
5. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the first recorded use of the word ‘quiz’ occurred on this date in 1782. The word, meaning ‘an odd or eccentric person’, was used by Fanny Burney in her diary. Its later meaning of ‘to question or interrogate’, emerged in the mid-19th century.
6. In 2018, Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on women being allowed to drive.
7. In 1947, the first reported sighting of flying saucers occurred near Mount Rainier, Washington, when airline pilot Kenneth Arnold of Boise, Idaho reported seeing nine UFOs. He estimated their speed at 1,700 mph and described their flight pattern as similar to a saucer skipping across water, inspiring a journalist to dub them "Flying Saucers".
8. In 1953, Jacqueline Bouvier announced her engagement to US senator John F Kennedy.

9. In 1717, the first Grand Lodge was founded by freemasons in London. Freemasonry, which is neither a religion nor a political group, is one of the world's oldest and largest fraternities, with over four million members.

10. In 1877, St John’s Ambulance was founded. Members of the public were trained in first aid to be on hand to deal with emergencies at public events. The name is derived from the order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem which nursed crusaders and pilgrims in the Holy Land.

I write Fiction, too.

There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

For more information visit My Books Page

For even more information visit My website