5 August

Ten weird and wonderful things which happened on 5 August:

1. Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon was born on this date in 1930. On July 20, 1969, he stepped onto the lunar surface and proclaimed: "That's one small step for {a} man, one giant leap for mankind."
2. In 1833, Chicago was incorporated as a village with a population of about 200.
3. In 1901, the first cinema in Britain opened in Upper Street, Islington. People paid the equivalent of 18p to see The Rajah’s Dream and The Enchanted Forest.
4. 1844 The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid at Bedloe's Island (now called Liberty Island) on this date in 1844.
5. This has been a good date for extreme and record breaking food. In 1989, the world's largest Hamburger was served at the Outagamie County Fair in Seymour, Wisconsin. The burger weighed 5,520 pounds and was 21 feet in diameter. In 1990, the world's tallest cake was baked and served at the Shiawassee County Fair in Corunna, Michigan. The cake was 101 feet tall. In 1994, the largest cocktail was made, a 2,933 gallon Finlandia Sea Breeze, in Philadelphia.
6. On this date in 1618 Lord Salisbury wrote to King James VI of Scotland (James I of England) complaining that the importation of golf balls from Holland was costing “na small quantitie of gold and silver” to “his Hienes’ kingdome of Scoteland”. As a result, James issued a royal prohibition on the importation of golf balls. Salisbury's letter adds weight to the theory that the Dutch, not the Scots, invented the game.
7. In 1936, at the Olympic Games in Berlin, African American athlete Jesse Owens broke the Olympic record in the 200 meters. One in the eye for German Chancellor Adolph Hitler, who had planned the Games to be a showcase of Aryan supremacy.
8. In 1996, a man climbed into a tiger’s cage in Shanghai Zoo, begging the animal to eat him. The Tiger seemed happy to oblige, but only got one bite out of the man's neck before zookeepers sedated it and rescued the man.
9. In 1989, the largest ever game of musical chairs took place with 8,238 people taking part.
10. The village of Berchules, Spain, celebrated New Year on this date in 1995. Why celebrate New Year in August? you may ask. They couldn't celebrate on the actual day because of a 13 hour power cut. Though it doesn't explain why it took 8 months to re-arrange. White mousse was used to simulate Snow.

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