2 August

Ten weird and wonderful things which happened on 2 August: 

1. A pair of aces and a pair of eights – this combination came to be known as the "Dead Man's Hand" as a result of events on this date in 1876. It was the hand frontiersman Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot dead while playing poker. The assassin, Jack McCall, had been enlisted by local criminals to prevent Hickok from becoming town marshal.
2. In 1975, a champagne-cork-popping record was set by Gary P. Mahan when he popped the cork 103 feet.
3. London Underground (The Tube) opened on this date in 1870. The same date in 2012 was the busiest day on the Tube ever, when 4.31 million people used it.
4. In 1873, the first trial run of a San Francisco cable car, on Clay Street between Kearny and Jones took place, downhill all the way, at 4 AM.
5. In 1875, Britain's first roller-skating rink was opened to the public, in Belgravia, London.
6. In 1784, the first specially-built Royal Mail coach ran from Bristol to London.
7. In 47 BC, Julius Caesar beat Pharnaces III of Pontus and said the immortal words “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered).
8. In 216 BC, a battle took place at Cannae. Hannibal beat the Romans using Elephants.
9. In 1997, Australian ski instructor Stuart Diver was rescued. He was the sole survivor of the Thredbo landslide in New South Wales, Australia, in which 18 lives were lost. Diver lay buried beneath mud, rubble and snow in his pyjamas for 66 hours.
10. In 1887, Barbed Wire was patented by Rowell Hodge.

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