20 August

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 20 August:

1. In 1997, Ilker Portakal was killed when his father Mustafa fired a shotgun to celebrate Turkey’s 6-4 win over Wales in a World Cup qualifier.
2. Mary Ellen and John Boy were wished goodnight for the last time on this date in 1981 as the last ever episode of The Waltons aired.
3. In 1667, John Milton published Paradise Lost, an epic poem about the fall of Adam and Eve.
4. In 1913, Adolphe Pegond bailed out from a Bleriot aeroplane 700 feet above Buc in France. His parachute brought him down safely, making him the first person to parachute from a plane.
5. In 1924, British sprinter Eric Liddel refused to run in the heats of the 100 metres at the Paris Olympic Games because they were held on a Sunday, going against his religious beliefs. He went on to set a new record when he won the 400 metres on a weekday. His story is told in the film, Chariots of Fire.
6. Ten women and men known as the Lancashire Witches were executed on this date in 1612, in one of England's most famous Witch trials. Ironically, the nine year old girl who supplied the court with incriminating evidence against the Witches was found guilty of Witchcraft and executed herself 22 years later.
7. The House of Commons met for the first time after World War II on this date in 1945. Conservative MPs greeted former Prime Minister Churchill with a rendition of For he’s a jolly good fellow. Not to be outdone, the Labour Benches sang The Red Flag. Colonel Clifton Brown, newly elected as Speaker commented that he didn’t know whether he was going to be Speaker or the director of a musical show. (Whereas the Speaker today must wonder if he's not the director of a s***show.)
8. In 1996, an 18 year old burglar suffered 3rd degree burns when he climbed into what he thought was a tanning bed at Salisbury hospital. It was in fact a nuclear machine, used to treat serious skin conditions, and would have killed him in 45 seconds. He got out fast but seriously burned after 15.
9. In 1985 Hanspeter Beck completed a 3,875 mile, 51 day trip from Western Australia to Melbourne on a unicycle.
10. In 2010, JD Salinger's Toilet was put on sale on eBay for $1 million.

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