22nd July: Spoonerisms

Today is Reverend William Archibald Spooner's birthday. He was born in 1844. His tendency to get words mixed up gave us the word "Spoonerism" to describe a sentence where the words have been jumbled, often to comic effect. Most of the amusing gaffes Spooner allegedly came out with in his lifetime cannot be proved to have been said by him. Only two are properly documented: "The weight of rages will press hard upon the employer" (rate of wages) and "Kinkering Kongs Their Titles Take." (Conquering Kings Their Titles Take), a hymn title. Here are 10 of the non proven ones - can you work out what he was supposed to be saying?

1. Is the bean dizzy?
2. The Lord is a shoving leopard.
3. Someone is occupewing my pie. Please sew me to another sheet.
4. A half-warmed fish.
5. A well-boiled icicle.
6. A blushing crow.
7. Three cheers for our queer old dean!
8. Is it kisstomary to cuss the bride?
9. A nosey little cook.
10. You have hissed all my mystery lectures, and were caught fighting a liar in the quad. Having tasted two worms, you will leave by the next town drain.

21st July: Ernest Hemingway's birthday

The writer Ernest Hemingway was born on this date in 1899. 10 Hemingway quotes:

1. The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
2. The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.
3. Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
4. Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.
5. There is no friend as loyal as a book.
6. There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.
7. Never mistake motion for action.
8. We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
9. Courage is grace under pressure.
10. I never had to choose a subject - my subject rather chose me.

20th July: First Moon landing

45 years ago today, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module landed on the surface of the Moon. Here are 10 things you may not know about the Apollo 11 mission.

Buzz Aldrin and the American flag on the Moon
(NASA photo)

1. 
   Since the crew of Apollo 10 had named their spacecraft Charlie Brown and Snoopy, the crew of Apollo 11 were under strict instructions from NASA to choose more serious names for theirs. Snowcone and Haystack were the names used in the planning stages, but for the actual mission, the Command Module was named Columbia after the Columbiad, the giant cannon shell "spacecraft" fired by a giant cannon in Jules Verne's 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon; and the Lunar Module was named Eagle for the national bird of the United States, the Bald eagle.
2. On board the spacecraft was a piece of wood from the plane in which the Wright brothers made the first flight, and a piece of fabric from the wing, which Neil Armstrong chose to take as part of his personal kit.
3. Buzz Aldrin's personal kit included a Holy Communion kit prepared by the pastor of the Webster Presbyterian Church, where Aldrin was an elder. Buzz Aldrin is the only person to have taken Holy Communion on the moon. He did so privately because atheists had strongly objected to crews of previous missions quoting from the Bible in space and had even brought lawsuits against NASA. It was reported that Neil Armstrong watched respectfully but did not partake. Aldrin brought the communion chalice back with him and gave it to the church, which commemorates the event annually on the Sunday nearest to July 20th.
4. The first words spoken by Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the surface of the moon are well known. However, the Eagle had been sitting on the moon surface for several hours before this with the astronauts inside. Nobody is really sure what the first words uttered after the landing actually were. It could have been Aldrin pointing out that the contact light had turned on by saying, “Contact light.” Armstrong then instructed Aldrin to turn off the descent engine by saying, “Shut down.” Aldrin followed by turning off the engine and saying, “Okay. Engine stop.” For the sake of a good story, though, people tend to go with “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”
5. The moon smells. The astronauts who have been there reported that it smelled of spent gunpowder or wet ashes in a fireplace. Scientists have not yet worked out why this is.
6. Three new minerals were discovered in the rock samples collected by the astronauts: armalcolite, tranquillityite, and pyroxferroite. Armalcolite was named after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins.
7. The computers on board the Apollo 11 spacecraft were not very powerful. There is more processing power in the average family car, and even in a mobile phone than there was in the rocket that went to the moon.
8. The US flag that was so carefully placed by the astronauts was knocked over by the exhaust when the Eagle took off. Subsequent missions learned from this and planted their flags at least 30 meters (100 feet) away from the lunar modules.
9. As well as the flag, the mission also left behind some scientific instruments to measure moonquakes, an Apollo 1 mission patch (Apollo 1 had ended in disaster with all its astronauts killed) and a plaque containing pictures of earth, the signatures of the astronauts and of Richard Nixon, who was President at the time. The plaque is inscribed with the words "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."
10. The last words to be transmitted from Columbia at the end of the mission were "Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers," spoken by Neil Armstrong.

19th July: National Daiquiri Day

Daiquiris are a family of cocktails made from Rum, Lime juice, sugar and ice. There are variations such as the strawberry daiquiri. 10 things you may not know about daiquiris:

Photo: Aaron Gustafson from Hamden, CT, USA

1. Daiquiri is the name of a beach and an iron mining village in Cuba. While we would more readily associate a drink like this with the beach, the inventor, Stockton Cox, was in fact working in the iron mine when he came up with the idea. The very first daiquiris were called “Ron Bacardi a la Daiquiri.”
2. When William A. Chanler, a US congressman, bought the Santiago Iron Mines in 1902, he discovered the new local drink and introduced it to clubs in New York.
3. Early daiquiris were served in a tall glass, and mixed in the glass. Nowadays it all goes into a cocktail shaker and from there into a chilled flute glass.
4. The recipe for a daiquiri is very similar to the "grog" that British sailors used to drink at sea in the 18th century to ward off scurvy.
5. A standard sized daiquiri contains 112 calories and is 2% Vitamin C.
6. The drink took off even more in the 1940s, possibly because rationing in the US made most spirits hard to get, but Roosevelt's policy of encouraging trade with near neighbours, including Cuba and the Caribbean, meant that rum was easily available.
7. Ernest Hemingway was famously fond of daiquiris. He liked them without the sugar, and legend has it that he once drank 13 doubles in one sitting.
8. In a Havana, Cuba, bar called El Floridita, there is a statue of Hemingway and the bartenders put a daiquiri next to the statue each day.
9. President John F Kennedy was also a fan.
10. El Floridita celebrated its 195th anniversary in 2012 and to celebrate, bartenders created a 71 gallon daiquiri in a 6 and a half foot tall glass (or 270 litres in a 2 meter glass, if you prefer).

18th July: Nelson Mandela's birthday

Today I honour Nelson Mandela, who would have been 96 today, with 10 quotations from the great man.

1. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
2. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
3. It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.
4. It always seems impossible until its done.
5. After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.
6. There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.
7. There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
8. Any man or institution that tries to rob me of my dignity will lose.
9. It is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea.
10. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfil themselves.

17th July: Disneyland opened

This date in 1955 saw the opening day of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, the most famous theme park in the world. 10 things you may not know about Disneyland:

1. The opening day was not the greatest success. It was supposed to be invitation only, but about half the people who turned up had bought counterfeit tickets. Celebrities who were taking part were delayed by traffic jams; there was a local plumbers' strike and so Disney had to choose between working drinking fountains and working toilets. He chose toilets, but many guests believed that the drinking fountains didn't work in order to force people to buy Pepsi (as Pepsi was one of the sponsors). It was so hot that the newly laid asphalt paths didn't set so ladies in high heels kept getting stuck; there wasn't enough food and a gas leak closed several of the rides. It was so bad that Disney executives dubbed it "Black Sunday". Disappointed guests were invited back for a private day so they could get the proper experience and hopefully dispel the negative publicity.
2. The first person to enter the park on a purchased ticket was David MacPherson with ticket number 2. Ticket number 1 had been purposefully given to Roy Disney, Walt's brother.
3. Aside from Micky and his cohorts, mice are not welcome in Disneyland. There are about 200 feral Cats living on the site, and rather than get rid of them, Disneyland actually looks after them - feeds them, neuters them and puts kittens in shelters - and the cats in turn keep the rodent population down. The cats are largely nocturnal so are not usually seen by guests, but even if they were, the Disney authorities believe it's better for them to see a wild cat than a Rat, or a mouse (which isn't called Micky or Minnie).
4. The staff use theatrical terms to underline the idea that guests are witnessing a performance. Employees are "cast members" and their job is a "role". Private, staff only areas are called "backstage" while any area of the park that can be seen by guests, including any part of the "backstage" area visible when the door is open, is "on stage". If a guest has to sign when using a credit card, they are asked for their "autograph" and the terminology and code of conduct that staff must use at work is the "script". A less magical term in the lexicon is "Code V" which means somebody has vomited in the park. Staff, many of whom are expected to work six day weeks for little more than minimum wage, have been known to refer to the park as "Mousewitz". Management forbade them from doing so, so the disgruntled staff started calling it "Duckau" instead.
5. The only place in Disneyland where it is possible to buy alcohol is Club 33, which is only open to a very exclusive membership (which is thought to include Tom Hanks and Jack Nicholson).
6. Among the "props" of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, there is a real human skull.
7. Many of the buildings, including Cinderella's Castle and Main Street USA, are designed and built to appear taller than they actually are.
8. Since 9/11, Disneyland has been a no fly zone. No flights are allowed within a three-mile radius around the parks or below 3,000 feet.
9. Disneyland is occasionally asked for permission to scatter the ashes of their cremated loved ones somewhere in the park - the most popular such request being the Haunted Mansion ride. Disney will always say "no", which led one guest to take matters into her own hands in 2007. She was caught on security camera dumping an unknown substance onto the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. The police were called and confirmed the substance to be somebody's ashes! The ride was closed for an hour while the mess was cleaned up, and Grandad presumably ended up in a Disneyland drain rather than on the ride.
10. Doritos were invented at Disneyland, as a use for left over tortillas.

16th July: Ethiopian Constitution Day

Ethiopian Constitution Day Celebrates the day in 1931 when Emperor Haile Selassie I implemented Ethiopia’s first constitution. Today, 10 facts about Ethiopia.

1. The capital and largest city is Addis Ababa.
2. Ethiopia is thought to be the place where modern humans first appeared on Earth, and from where they set out to colonise the rest of the planet.
3. The Coffee bean also originated here, and Ethiopia is still the biggest coffee producer in Africa.
4. Most of Ethiopia's rivers flow to the North West, towards the Nile.
5. A remote settlement, Dallol, holds the record for the hottest inhabited place on Earth. The average temperature was recorded as 35°C (96°F) was recorded between the years 1960 and 1966. It has no transport links, not even a road. The only way to get there is by Camel.
6. During the 19th century, Ethiopia was unique in that it successfully resisted takeover by colonial powers. Other nations in Africa acknowledged this by adopting Ethiopia's colours for their flags when they became independent - so Ethiopia is the reason why so many African national flags include Green, Yellow and red.
7. Ethiopia is where the Rastafari movement began - Emperor Haile Selassie I was crowned in 1930. He had led the modernisation of the country since 1916. His regnal name means "Power of the Trinity". As well as the many titles given him by Rastafarians: "King of Kings", "Lord of Lords", "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah", "Elect of God," He was also named Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1935, following a powerful address to the League of Nations.
8. The Ethiopians have a different system for measuring time to western countries. Whereas we reckon a day to start at 12am, in Ethiopia, the day starts at 6am, which is the time that the sun rises throughout the year. This means there is a 6 hour difference between Ethiopian time and western time. They have a different calendar, too - the Ethiopian Calendar is about seven years behind the Gregorian Calendar.
9. The population is around 92,000,000, making it the most populous landlocked country in the world, and the second most populated nation in Africa (Nigeria being the first).
10. Ethiopians don't have family names. They have a given name, to which is added the given names of their father and grandfather. For administrative purposes, such as passports, the grandfather's given name is taken as a surname.