9 September

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 9 September:

1. In 1828 Count Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist was born. He's famous for his novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, which began with the words, "All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In 1908 his admirers organised a grand jubilee to celebrate his 80th birthday; but the man himself was not keen. He grumbled, "When there is nothing left to think about but death, they want to bother me with that!"
2. In 1513, King James IV Of Scotland, aged 40, became the last monarch from Great Britain to be killed in battle. His reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field.
3. In 2002, a man called William Potogi, age 33, was given a ritual bath by a witch doctor in Paramaribo, Surinam, to make him bullet-proof. He asked the witch doctor's assistant to test whether it had worked, and as a result was shot dead with his own sawn-off shotgun at point-blank range. A police spokesman said; "Both men deny murder and claim Potogi died because he lacked faith in the spell".
4. In 1999 in Kuala Lumpur: 99 couples got married at 9:09am on the 9th day of the 9th month. A good time to wed, since the number 9 symbolises longevity.
5. In 1927, Rev. John Flynn founded the Australian Inland Mission Medical Service, later known as the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
6. Hugh Grant, actor, whose films include Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill, was born on this date in 1960.
7. In 1892, Amalthea – Jupiter's fifth moon – was discovered by US astronomer Edward Barnard. It was the first moon of Jupiter to be discovered since the four original moons spotted by Galileo in 1610.
8. In 1999, Shabana Hussain 27, was making a curry at her home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, when she cut open a Tomato and saw patterns spelling “In the name of Allah the most beneficent and merciful” and “There is no god but Allah” in Arabic. “It is very clear,” said Mrs Hussain, “Everyone has been able to make the message out.” Her husband said it was a miracle as hundreds of Muslims converged on their house to take a look.
9. The first "bug" in a computer program was discovered by Grace Hopper on this date in 1945. The bug in question was a Moth, and was removed with tweezers from a relay and taped into the log book.
10. In 1997, a woman was put on probation for neglecting her children while she spent up to 12 hours a day surfing The Internet. Her name was Hacker.

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