10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 11 December:
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, was born on this date in 1918. Through his writing, he made the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labour camp system in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, his two best-known works. Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970.
- In 2000, 100 year old Robert Talley, read his 100th birthday message from the Queen, and declared, "Yes I made it!" and promptly died.
- In 2001, an Iranian bridegroom licked Honey from his bride’s finger during their marriage ceremony. Iranian couples traditionally lick honey from each other's fingers when they get married so that their life together starts sweetly. However, it didn't work out that way for this couple as the groom choked to death on one of the bride's false nails.
- In 1936 Edward VIII abdicated as King after a reign of 325 days, in favour of his brother, who became King George VI. Before he left the country, made a final farewell broadcast. The announcement was made on BBC radio at 10pm. Edward slipped away in the early hours to exile in France.
- In 1972, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had taken delivery of a video recorder so she could watch her favourite TV shows at her leisure.
- In 1987, Charlie Chaplin’s famous cane and Bowler hat were sold at Christie’s in London for £82,500 and his boots for £38,500.
- Citizens of Enterprise, Alabama dedicated the first known monument to honour the boll weevil on this date in 1919. It might seem strange to honour a creature which had threatened their livelihood by destroying cotton plants. However, it turned out the farmers did have a lot to thank the weevil for. It forced them to diversify their crops, tripling their income.
- In 1825, Russian poet Alexandr Pushkin left home to visit friends in St Petersburg. As he set out, two Rabbits crossed his path – an omen of bad luck in Russia. Reluctant to cancel his trip, Pushkin carried on, only to have a priest in black cross his path – another ominous omen. This time, Pushkin got the message, turned around and went home. He later learned that two of the friends he was going to visit had been hanged in a political upheaval.
- In 1976, Brian Dunne of Queensland, Australia, spat a melon seed 59ft 1.5in – to get into the Guinness Book of Records.
- During a protest against the government in Bangladesh on this date in 2004, five million people held hands, forming a human chain stretching from Teknaf to Tentulia. The world's longest human chain spanned 1,050 kilometres or just over 650 miles.
New!!
A Superhero love story.
Sent away to school to get her away from undesirable company, Agnes finds herself homesick and lonely. A brief connection with Jason Warner leads to the teenage crush to end all teenage crushes. Jason is barely aware Agnes exists, but she plans her whole future around him.
It is only when they meet again as adults that the connection becomes mutual; but before it can develop, Jason makes a discovery which rocks his entire world. He needs time alone, away from everyone, including Agnes. When Jason is finally ready to go back to his old life, Agnes has moved on and he cannot find her.
Agnes is now a single parent to the remarkable Seraphina. The Power League want to harness Seraphina's powers for evil before the Freedom League become aware of her. Agnes has no idea her new colleague and friend is a supervillain with his own agenda, and his willingness to babysit is not as innocent as she thinks. As Incendio starts teaching Seraphina to use her powers, the Freedom League intervene. Little do they know that they have found one of their own.
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