13 August

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 13 August:

1. This date in 1899 saw the birth of Alfred Hitchcock, iconic film director and producer, whose films include Psycho, The Birds, Dial M for Murder and Rear Window. One of Hitchcock's signatures was to appear in a cameo role in each of his films, often carrying a musical instrument. He was also said to have a fear of egg yolks and the police. He said, "The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."
2. Born this date in 1860 was Phoebe Anne Mosey, better known as Annie Oakley. She became famous at the age of 15 when she won a contest against marksman Frank E. Butler. She later married him. In 1885, they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show; Annie was one of its star attractions for 17 years. From 30 paces (90 ft) she could hit the edge of a Playing card, a dime tossed in the air or a cigarette held between her husband's lips. Irving Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun was based on her life.
3. Light pollution can kill. In 1999, a young man in California was electrocuted when he pried open the inspection plate of a street lamp and sawed through the 4,000 volt cable, because he thought the glare of the street light was spoiling his view of the Perseid meteor shower.
4. In 2003, 30-year-old man died in Sweden after being buried alive under a 13-ton pile of Peas in a storage silo. He was working on an electrical installation on a farm near Mjolby in south-eastern Sweden when the peas were dumped on him. Rescue workers pulled him out but were unable to revive him.
5. On this date in 1924 a country music record sold one million copies for the first time – The Prisoner's Song by Vernon Dalhart.
6. In 1849, a block of ice about 6 metres around and weighing about half a tonne fell at Ord, Ross-shire. The usual explanation that it fell from an aeroplane toilet could not have applied in this case.
7. The coin-operated phone was patented by William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut on this date in 1889.
8. In 1806, Captain William Bligh, of Bounty Mutiny fame, became the fourth governor of New South Wales, Australia.
9. In 2013, film footage of the isolated and previously unseen Kawahiva tribe was recorded for the first time in the Amazon rain forest, in Brazil.
10. In 1997, a 49 year old man in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbing two banks while wearing a floral dress, pumps, and a red wig.

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