8th August: Mont Blanc

It was on this date in 1786 that Dr Michel Gabriel Paccard and his porter, Jacques Balmat, reached the summit of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe at 4,810 m (15,781 ft) above sea level. 10 things you might not know about Mont Blanc:

1. The name Mont Blanc and the Italian Monte Bianco mean "White Mountain". It is also sometimes known as La Dame Blanche (French for "the White Lady") or Il Bianco (Italian for "the White One.")
2. Paccard and Balmat's ascent is said to have marked the beginning of modern mountaineering. Their motivation was no doubt influenced by the fact that Horace-Bénédict de Saussure was offering a prize for the first successful climb.
3. The first woman to reach the summit was Marie Paradis in 1808.
4. There was once an observatory at the summit. Gustave Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame, agreed to take on the project if there was a firm foundation to build it on. There wasn't, and he gave up, but the observatory was built anyway in 1893 and lasted until 1909, when a crevasse started to open under it and it had to be abandoned.
5. There have been two plane crashes on the mountain, in 1950 and 1966. Both were Air India flights bound for Geneva.
6. Since 1965, there has been a tunnel underneath it, which connects Chamonix, France and Courmayeur, Italy. It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes between the two countries. 39 people were killed in a fire in the tunnel in 1999, which led to the tunnel being closed for three years for renovations and safety improvements.
7. In 1886, Theodore Roosevelt led an expedition to the peak.
8. In 1960 pilot Henri Giraud landed a plane on the summit which is only 30m (98 ft) long.
9. Mont Blanc is the location of the highest Toilets in Europe, at a height of 4,260 metres, 13,976 feet. They were taken up by Helicopter, and are also serviced by helicopter.
10. In 2007, twenty people set up a hot tub at the summit.

August 7th: Mata Hari

Mata Hari, famous World War I spy and exotic dancer was born on this date in 1876. 10 things you might not know about Mata Hari:

1. Her real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle
2. Her stage name, Mata Hari, is Malay for "sun", literally "eye of the day".
3. Her first choice of career was as a kindergarten teacher, but her godfather took her out of the school when the headmaster began flirting with her.
4. At 18 she married a man twenty years older than she was, Captain Rudolf MacLeod - he had advertised in a Dutch newspaper looking for a wife, and she answered, possibly attracted by the fact that he was of a higher social class than she and would offer financial security. The marriage was not happy - he was a violent alcoholic who openly kept a concubine.
5. She had two children, Jeanne and Norman. Both children contracted syphilis from their parents and the treatment made them very ill, although some maintain the children were poisoned by a disgruntled servant or one of MacLeod's enemies. Norman died, Jeanne survived, but only lived to the age of 21.
6. When her marriage broke down, Mata Hari moved to Paris and performed as a circus horse rider. At that time she was calling herself Lady MacLeod, which seriously offended her husband's family.
7. While working as an exotic dancer, she was often photographed nearly nude - MacLeod used some of the pictures to ensure she did not get custody of their daughter.
8. Although famous for flaunting her body, Mata Hari was self conscious about her small breasts and was rarely seen without a Bra.
9. As a Dutch citizen, she could travel freely around Europe during World War I because the Netherlands had remained neutral. She had affairs with high ranking army officials. French intelligence agents identified her as the spy with the code name H-21 and arrested her. Although there was no definite evidence against her, they seemed to have it in for her - her lawyer was even denied the permission to travel to the trial to cross-examine witnesses. She was executed by firing squad in 1917, aged 41.
10. Her body was given to medical science. Her head was embalmed and kept in the Museum of Anatomy in Paris, but in 2000, archivists discovered that her head had disappeared.

August 6th: Alexander Fleming

On this date in 1881 the scientist Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin was born, so here are 10 things you may not know about him and his discoveries:

1. Fleming served in the London Scottish Regiment of the Volunteer Force and was a member of the rifle club at medical school.
2. He originally planned to become a surgeon, but took a temporary job in bacteriology and realised that was where his interest lay.
3. He was known as a brilliant scientist but not for being tidy. We probably have his untidiness to thank for his greatest discovery, which was made when he returned from his holiday, having stacked up his Bacteria cultures on a bench in a corner, and fungus had started growing on some of them. He noticed the effect the fungus was having on the colonies of bacteria and famously commented, "That's funny..."
4. At first, though, Fleming didn't think penicillin would be all that useful as it was difficult to produce large quantities of it and it seemed to act too slowly. Nevertheless he published his work. Two more scientists, Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain, built on that and worked out how to mass produce penicillin so that it could be used to treat wounded soldiers in World War II.
5. Fleming, Florey and Chain jointly received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.
6. The laboratory in which Fleming discovered and tested penicillin is preserved as the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum in St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington.
7. Before penicillin, he also discovered lysozyme, a mildly antiseptic enzyme present in body fluids. This was another accidental discovery: he had a cold and a drop of mucus from his nose dropped onto a culture of bacteria. He decided to see what effect this had on the bacteria and found it killed them, although it was not as effective as penicillin. It was a significant contribution to human immune system research.
8. There is a statue of Alexander Fleming outside the main bullring in Madrid, erected by matadors, because penicillin meant they were much more likely to survive injuries sustained in the ring.
9. He was also named Honorary Chief Doy-gei-tau of the Native American Kiowa tribe.
10. And he has an Asteroid named after him: 91006 Fleming.

5th August: The Elephant Man

Joseph Merrick, “The Elephant Man”, was born on 5th August 1862. 10 Elephant Man facts:

1. After leaving school at 13, Joseph did work for a time rolling cigars in a factory but eventually his hands became too deformed for him to do this. He found work as a hawker, or salesman, but wasn't successful as his appearance used to put off potential customers. He lived in a workhouse for four years before writing to showman Sam Torr and asking for work as an exhibit in a travelling show.
2. His association with the London Hospital began while he was an exhibit in a Whitechapel "penny gaff" shop, across the road from the hospital. (The shop is now a sari shop.) Medical students would frequently go and look, and one of them brought "The Elephant Man" to the attention of his superior, Frederick Treves. Treves invited Joseph to the hospital so he could take photographs and investigate his condition, which led, eventually, to the two becoming friends.
3. Although Merrick at one point decided he did not wish to be photographed any more and left London to tour Europe, he was robbed and abandoned by his manager in Belgium. He somehow made his way back to London and was picked up by police who could not understand anything he said. All they could find on him was Treves' business card. Suffering from bronchitis, Merrick could be admitted to the hospital. In time, Treves managed to arrange for permanent rooms for Merrick in the basement of the hospital. The rooms contained a specially constructed bed and no mirrors.
4. As Treves grew used to Merrick's speech, he realised he was not an imbecile as first thought, but highly intelligent and sensitive. Treves would arrange for Merrick to experience things most people took for granted, such as holidays in the country and a trip to the theatre. Merrick had hardly ever met any women in his life, and those he did meet were frightened of him - so Treves arranged for one of his female friends, Leila Maturin, to visit. Having a woman smile at him and shake his hand for the first time was an experience he would never forget. Leila and Merrick remained in contact by letter. Later, he met Princess Alexandra when she came to the hospital with her husband to open a new building. She, too, shook his hand and spent time with him, and sent him a Christmas card each year.
5. Merrick's hobbies were reading and making model buildings out of card. He would sometimes go for walks in the hospital courtyard after dark.
6. Merrick believed that his condition was caused by his mother being frightened by an elephant while she was pregnant with him.
7. Doctors believe he suffered from neurofibromatosis type I, or Proteus syndrome, both congenital conditions. Some believe he may have had both.
8. Joseph Merrick died aged just 27. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia, caused by a dislocated neck. Treves concluded that, although for most of his life, Merrick slept sitting up, because of the weight of his head, on this occasion he must have decided to try sleeping lying down in an attempt to be normal. His desire to be like other people was literally the death of him.
9. The inquest into his death was held by Wynne Edwin Baxter, who was also famous for conducting the inquests into Jack the Ripper's victims.
10. On stage and screen, the Elephant Man has been portrayed by Philip Anglim, David Bowie and John Hurt.

4th August: 100th anniversary of Britain entering WWI

Today is the 100th anniversary of Britain's entry into WWI. Germany had attacked Luxembourg on 2 August and on 3 August declared war on France. On 4 August, after Belgium refused to permit German troops to cross its borders into France, Germany declared war on Belgium as well. Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, following an "unsatisfactory reply" to the British ultimatum that Belgium must be kept neutral. 10 quotations relating to World War I:

1. All blood runs red. Phrase painted on the side of the plane flown by Eugene Bullard in World War I the first black comba
2. All treaties between great states cease to be binding when they come in conflict with the struggle for existence. Otto von Bismarck
3. I look upon him as the greatest criminal known for having plunged the world into war. George V on his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1918
4. The lamps are going out all over Europe: we shall not see them lit again in our life-time. Edward Grey
5. Once blood is shed in a national quarrel reason and right are swept aside by the rage of angry men. David Lloyd George, British prime minister
6. The First World War killed fewer victims than the Second World War, destroyed fewer buildings, and uprooted millions instead of tens of millions – but in many ways it left even deeper scars both on the mind and on the map of Europe. The old world never recovered from the shock. Edmund Taylor, historian
7. God would never be cruel enough to create a cyclone as terrible as that Argonne battle. Only man would ever think of doing an awful thing like that. Alvin C. York
8. There is a price which is too great to pay for peace, and that price can be put in one word. One cannot pay the price of self-respect. Woodrow Wilson
9. Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war. Otto von Bismarck
10. At eleven o’clock this morning came to an end the cruellest and most terrible War that has ever scourged mankind. I hope we may say that thus, this fateful morning, came to an end all wars. David Lloyd George

3rd August: PD James

On this date in 1920 P.D. (Phyllis Dorothy) James was born. Here are 10 PD James quotations.

1. God gives every bird his worm, but He does not throw it into the nest.
2. We English are good at forgiving our enemies; it releases us from the obligation of liking our friends.
3. What the detective story is about is not murder but the restoration of order.
4. What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give.
5. There comes a time when every scientist, even God, has to write off an experiment.
6. It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life.
7. Not so much two ships passing in the night as two ships sailing together for a time but always bound for different ports.
8. We can experience nothing but the present moment, live in no other second of time, and to understand this is as close as we can get to eternal life.
9. Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.
10. Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.

2nd August: The Blackwall Tunnel

On this date in 1967 the second Blackwall Tunnel opened in Greenwich, London. The tunnel was originally opened as a single bore in 1897 by the then Prince of Wales, and supported a mix of foot, cycle, horse-drawn and vehicular traffic. By the 1930s, capacity was becoming inadequate, so the second bore opened in 1967, handling southbound traffic while the earlier 19th century tunnel handled northbound. 10 things you may not know about the Blackwall Tunnel:

1. The Northbound tunnel has sharp bends, although the Southbound one does not. This was to prevent Horses from bolting as soon as they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The Southbound tunnel was built for cars so such precautions were not necessary.
2. 600 homes had to be demolished to make room for the first tunnel, including a house Sir Walter Raleigh once owned.
3. The Blackwall Tunnel is not a toll road, even though the nearby Dartford Tunnel is, because it was already an established route into London when the second tunnel was built.
4. The tunnel is part of the A102 road.
5. One London bus route runs through the tunnel - the 108, which runs between Stratford and Lewisham. Sometimes, when the tunnel is closed to other traffic, the buses still go through with an escort.
6. The entrance to the Northbound tunnel is a Grade II listed building since 1973.
7. The ventilation towers, designed by GLC architect Terry Farrell, were also listed in 2000.
8. In January 1979, the IRA planted a bomb in the tunnel, set to explode at midnight. Although the bomb did go off as police were searching the tunnel after the anonymous tip off, nobody was hurt in the explosion.
9. One of the worst London traffic jams ever was caused by a crane driver who ignored height restriction warnings and drove in anyway, breaking a reinforcement frame. The whole tunnel had to be closed at once. It might not have been so bad if not for the fact that the Limehouse Link Tunnel and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge were also closed that day.
10. There could be a third tunnel one day. This is one of the proposals to make traffic flow even better.