2 November

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 2 November:

1. This date in 1755 saw the birth of Marie Antoinette, Austrian princess and Queen Consort of Louis XVI of France, whose arrogant and extravagant behaviour helped fuel the unrest which led to the Revolution. Of the poor, it's claimed she said, ‘If they have no Bread, let them eat cake.’
2. In 1998, five Buddhist worshippers were killed when three giant ceremonial joss sticks collapsed at one of Thailand's Phra Pathom Jedi temple north-west of Bangkok. The 79ft-88ft (24m-27m) tall joss sticks, said to be the largest ever built in Thailand, crumbled under their own weight, possibly because they were soaked by heavy rain.
3. Douglas Adams was asked many times why he chose the number 42 as The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. On this date in 1993 he finally revealed the truth. He said, "The answer to this is very simple. It was a joke".
4. Haile Selassie I (Ras Tafari) was crowned the last emperor of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on this date in 1930. He ruled until 1974. His other titles included Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, and King of Kings.
5. The Sunday Express published the first British Crossword puzzle on this date in 1924, set by C.W. Shepherd. Shepherd had acquired the crossword from America, where they'd already had them for 13 years. Just before going to press, someone noticed one of the answers, the word honour, was spelt the American way. Simply adding the ‘u’ would ruin the whole puzzle. Shepherd made drastic last minute changes and took out the word ‘honour’ altogether.
6. In 2000, the first crew left for the International Space Station.
7. The first motor insurance policies were issued in Britain on this date in 1896, but they excluded damage caused by frightened Horses.
8. In 1998, Barry Daly, a rail freight distribution depot supervisor known as the Fat Controller stole 4 locomotives, 30 wagons, 6 passenger coaches and 3 breakdown coaches. A whole different level of workplace theft from nicking paper clips from the stationery cupboard.
9. 1903 Manly, a beach suburb of Sydney, Australia, rescinded the by-law prohibiting bathing after 7am on this date in 1903. People could now go Swimming at any time of day, provided bathers over eight years of age wore neck-to-knee costumes.
10. In 1982, the world record for Bathtub travel was set by Greg Nutton. Powered by a 6 HP engine, the tub took Greg 36 miles in 87 minutes.

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