7 October

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 7 October:

1. In 1492, a false cry of "Land ho!" and sighting of land birds made Christopher Columbus change course and miss Florida.
2. Woman's Hour was first broadcast, on this date in 1946. Joan Griffiths was the first regular presenter.
3. An instalment of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe appeared in The Original London Post on this date in 1719, the first novel to be serialised.
4. In 1714, people rioted due to a Beer tax in Alkmaar, Netherlands.
5. In 1998, at the Port Elgin Pumpkinfest. Gary Burke from Simcoe, Ontario presented a 1,093lb world record Pumpkin.
6. In 1988, an Alaskan hunter spotted trapped grey Whales beating themselves against the ice trying to break it. They became the focus of an international rescue to save them from certain death. Ironically, many of those who helped in the rescue would normally be their killers.
7. A significant date for double-decked things: in 1816 the first double decked steamboat, the Washington, arrived in New Orleans. In 1907, Henry Farman flew 30m in a double decker plane.
8. The most lopsided American football game on record took place on this date in 1916, when Georgia Tech beat Cumberland University, 222-0.
9. On the same day, Harry ‘The Human Fly’ Gardiner climbed the 211 foot Majestic Building at 137 Woodward St, Detroit, watched by the biggest crowd to ever assemble in the city. Gardiner waved at the cheering crowd from the top of the building after a climb that took him 37 minutes. US President Grover Cleveland gave him the human fly nickname.
10. In 2000, Davo Karnica Slovenia climbed to the summit of Mount Everest, then skied down, streaming the 5 hour descent live on the Internet.

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