15 July

  10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 15 July:

1. This date in 1606 saw the birth of the Dutch painter, Rembrandt. He went on to produce over 650 oil paintings and 2,000 drawings.
2. In 1999, a dwarf nicknamed Od came to an unfortunate end in a circus accident in Thailand. According to the Pattaya Mail, he bounced off his trampoline straight into the gaping maw of the next act, a Hippopotamus which was waiting to appear in the next act, and happened to yawn at that exact moment. Vets said Hilda the Hippo was normally a vegetarian but had a gag reflex that automatically caused her to swallow Od. The 1,000-plus spectators at first thought it was all part of the act and continued to applaud until it became clear there had been a tragic mistake.
3. In 1952, Gladys Knight, aged 8, won $2000 and a gold cup for her rendition of Too Young on US TV's Ted Mack's Amateur Hour.
4. In 1974, live on a Florida TV station, news reader Christine Chubbock reached into a bag behind her desk, pulled out a revolver, and shot herself in the head. She died the following day. Yes, the news is depressing but that’s a bit extreme!
5. In 2000, the world's largest Curry was cooked up by Lichfield Army Training Regiment. It was a 3 tonne/700 gallon vegetable curry, which stretched to 30,000 portions.
6. This has been a good day for pioneer flights around the world. In 1933, Wiley Post, flying a Lockheed Vega called Winnie Mae, left New York for the first solo flight around the world. It took 7 days, 18 hours, and 49½ minutes to complete the trip. A year later in 1939, Clara Adams, also from New York, became the first woman to complete a round the world flight.
7. In 2005, Disneyland theme park became the first location to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
8. In 1525, the Elector of Brandenburg’s astrologer predicted that there would be a flood. The elector took his family to the hills to escape the disaster. The weather remained clear, so he decided in the afternoon that it was safe to go home. His coachman and four horses were struck by Lightning as they went through the castle gate.
9. The Rosetta Stone was discovered on this date in 1799 by French Captain Pierre Bouchard in the Egyptian village of Rosette.
10. In 2000, Mary Maughan 91, and Charlotte Watson 82, became the oldest people to perform a 144ft abseil in the Lake District.

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