8 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 8 July:

1. Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley died on this date in 1822 at the age of 29. He drowned in a squall while on a boat with his friend Captain Williams on the Bay of Spezzia, Italy. Byron, Leigh Hunt and Trelawny burned his body as required by quarantine law, but his heart didn’t burn. His wife Mary kept it in her desk until she died.
2. In 1880, Claude Debussy was hired as a summer piano tutor by Nadezhda von Meck, the rich Russian woman who had for many years provided covert financial support to Tchaikovsky. To get the job, Debussy lied about his age, telling her he was 20 when he was really only 17.
3. The Monkees began a 29-date tour on this date in 1967 with The Jimi Hendrix Experience as their support act. Hendrix was dropped after six shows as his act was not deemed suitable for a teenybopper audience.
4. In 1685, Sir Samuel Morland opened the first drinking water fountain, at Hammersmith.
5. In 1881, Edward Berner of Two Rivers, Wisconsin served the first Ice cream sundae. He offered his "sundae" concoction only on Sundays.
6. In 1629, the King of Spain sent Charles I of England an Elephant and five Camels.
7. In 2006, Queen guitarist Brian May made a "substantial" donation to save Hedgehogs from slaughter in the Outer Hebrides. Scottish Natural Heritage had been culling the animals there for four years.
8. In 1965, Ronald Biggs, one of the Great Train Robbers, escaped over the wall of Wandsworth Prison with a rope ladder.
9. In 1835, The Liberty Bell cracked as it was rung at the funeral of US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall in Philadelphia.
10. In 1977 Sabra Starr belly danced into the record books with the world’s longest belly dance of 100 hrs.

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7 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 7 July:

1. In 1553, Mary Tudor spent the night in Sawston Hall hiding from the Duke of Northumberland. When a party of the Duke’s men was spotted at dawn, Mary fled disguised as a milkmaid. Her pursuers, however, burned down the hall. When she was made Queen, Mary had the hall rebuilt.
2. Born on this date in 1940 was Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr, The Beatles' drummer, also narrator of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine.
3. Born on this date in 1860 was Gustav Mahler, composer and music director of the New York Philharmonic.
4. Born on this date in 1887 was the artist Marc Chagall. He said, “In our life there is a single colour as on an artist palette, which provides the meaning of life and art... It is the colour of love.”
5. In 2007, Ozzy Osbourne, who comes from Aston, became the first artist to be honoured on Birmingham's Hollywood-style Walk of Fame. He told fans that this brass paving star meant more to him that than any Hollywood accolade.
6. The first air show was held on this date in 1950 in Farnborough.
7. In 2013, Andy Murray of the United Kingdom won the Men's Singles at Wimbledon, defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets. This made him the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.
8. In 1982, Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace, made his way into the Queen’s bedroom and asked her for a cigarette while sitting on the end of her bed.
9. In 1975, Murile Melkis and her family were watching a film about the sinking of the Titanic on TV in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. ‘Just as the Titanic was about to hit the iceberg we heard a terrific crash. We rushed outside and found tiles from our roof scattered everywhere,’ said Murile. A big lump of ice had chosen that moment to fall from the sky and smash a two-foot-square hole in their roof.
10. Born on this date in 1907 was American science fiction author Robert A Heinlein, whose books include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers and The Cat Who Walked Through Walls. He said: “How we behave toward Cats here below determines our status in heaven.”

I write Fiction, too.

There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

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6 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 6 July:

1. On this date in 1935, Tenzin Gyatso was born. Though you probably know him better as the 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual leader among Tibetans and head of the Tibetan Government in Exile. He was proclaimed to be the thirteenth Dalai Lama reincarnated at the age of two and was enthroned as Tibet's Dalai Lama at 15. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. He said, "My true religion is Kindness".
2. Born on this date in 1907 was Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter who painted self portraits in vibrant colours. She wrote, "I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim."
3. In 1999, a naked man was found dead on the back of a killer whale at Sea World, Orlando, Florida, at 7.35am. It was thought the victim had hidden in the park until after closing time and climbed into the pool with the whale, Tillikum. It's thought the man died when Tillikum removed his swimming trunks and dragged him along the bottom of the pool.
4. In 1964, The Beatles first film, A Hard Days Night premièred at the Pavilion Theatre in London, with Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon in attendance. The film's soundtrack had already sold a million and a half copies in only nine days, the fastest selling album in British history.
5. French bacteriologist Louis Pasteur inoculated the first human being on this date in 1885. The patient was Joseph Meister, a boy who'd been bitten by a rabid dog. The boy didn't get rabies, grew up and became director of the Pasteur Institute. (So impressed he bought the company).
6. In 1968, a library book overdue by 145 years was returned to the University of Cincinnati Library. The fine was $22,646.
7. In 2006, The Hill Meat Company in Pendleton, Oregon built the world's longest Hot dog. It was made for Franz Family Bakeries of Portland's extra long bun to celebrate their 100th anniversary. The total length of the hot dog was 31.9 meters or 104.75 feet.
8. On this date in 1942, Anne Frank, aged 13, and her family went into hiding from the Nazis with four other people in the "Secret Annex" at 263 Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal), Amsterdam.
9. For one second on this date in 1989, the time was 01:23:45, 6-7-89.
10. In 2006, keepers at Colchester Zoo fed the Lions blood ice lollies to keep them cool during a heatwave.

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There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

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5 July

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 5 July:

1. This date in 1810 saw the birth of PT Barnum, US showman known for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding a circus. He never actually said "There's a sucker born every minute," as is famously ascribed, but he did say "No one went broke underestimating public taste."
2. Born this date in 1996 was Dolly, a female domestic Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned. Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in Scotland carried out the procedure. The cell used for the cloning of Dolly was taken from a mammary gland, so she was named after Dolly Parton.
3. In 1966, Batman and Robin were first seen on British television. 
4. In 1883, the first photograph of lightning was taken in Bohemia by Robert Haensel.
5. In 1865, Britain introduced the first speed limit in the world for steam and petrol driven vehicles. The Locomotives and Highways Act stipulated a maximum speed of a giddy 2 mph. At that time there were only two cars in the whole country!
6. In 1888, three match girls were sacked from the Bryant and May Match factory in London for giving Annie Besant information about their working conditions. The other 672 employees went on strike, a landmark for women workers in Britain.
7. On this date in 1942, the first person graduated from "Special 25", a training school for spies in Canada. His name was Ian Fleming. This training proved to be invaluable to his future career: creating James Bond.
8. IN 1999, a 150 foot Tornado hit Selly Oak, Birmingham. 21 houses were damaged but no-one was injured.
9. In 1777, a London woman was convicted of disguising herself as a man and marrying three different women, defrauding them of their money and clothes. She was put in the pillory and imprisoned for six months.
10. In 1981, Englishman Reg Mellor broke his record by keeping two live Ferrets down his trousers for 5 hours and 26 minutes.

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There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

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4 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 4 July:

Lewis Carroll

1. On this date in 1776 the US Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In England, King George III wrote in his diary, “Nothing of importance happened today.”
2. Two US Presidents died on Independence Day 1826: John Adams, second President, and Thomas Jefferson, third President. They'd both wanted to live to see the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Jefferson died at one p.m., Adams a few hours later. Jefferson’s last words were "This is the Fourth?" And Adams: "Thomas Jefferson still survives." In 1872, the future 30th president, Calvin Coolidge, was born.
3. In 1796, the first Independence Day celebration was held in the Western Reserve (Conneaut) by Moses Cleaveland and his survey party.
4. In 1862, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson was on a picnic with Alice Liddell, 10, and he told her a story about a girl named Alice who fell down a rabbit hole. Alice insisted that he write it down. He did so, and adopted the pen name Lewis Carroll to publish Alice's Adventures in Wonderland exactly 3 years later in 1865.
5. The first McDonalds in Kuwait opened on this date in 1994. On the opening day the queue at the drive-through was 7 miles long.
6. In 1829, Britain's first regular scheduled Bus service began running, between Marylebone Road and the Bank of England, in London. The service was started by a Mr Shillibeer, so the vehicles were known as Shillibeers.
7. In 1853, Suffragette Amelia Bloomer shocked an audience in Connecticut by wearing loose trousers as a protest at the requirements of women’s dress. This garment later became known as "Bloomers".
8. In 1879, the Taughannock Giant was unearthed on the shores of Lake Cayuga in Ithaca. It was pronounced authentic by scientists, but turned out to a carving by Ira Dean who'd spent months carving, just to fool people.
9. In 1928, ‘Smiling Jean’ Lussier went over Niagara Falls in a large rubber ball, and survived.
10. In 2004, the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower was laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York. This was largely a symbolic event; actual construction would not start for several weeks.

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There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

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3 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 3 July:

Quebec

1. A 27-year-old Thai man came to a shocking end on this date in 2003. He was electrocuted when he urinated near a power pole on the side of a road in Bangkok. It was thought that the victim had peed on a flooded ground line, and his prosthetic leg acted as a strong conductor.
2. In 1608, French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded the City of Quebec. The name comes from the Algonquian word meaning "the river narrows here." Quebec has been called the "Cradle of New France" because it served as the main base for early French explorers and missionaries in North America.
3. When rain stopped play during Wimbledon on this date in 1976, Cliff Richard launched into a spontaneous concert of his old hits. Turned out, he'd planned the whole thing as a publicity stunt.
4. Karl Benz drove the first automobile in the world in Mannheim, Germany on this date in 1886. He reached a top speed of 10 mph.
5. In 1898, Captain Joshua Slocum completed the world’s first solo boat trip around the world when he reached Newport, Rhode Island in his fishing boat Spray. The journey had taken him just over three years.
6. In 1998, a 5,000-year-old 2ft 6in oak object resembling a Cricket bat was found on Chelsea river bank.
7. In 1884, Charles Dow and Edward Jones published the first average of US stocks. The first Dow-Jones average included mostly railways because they were the biggest and sturdiest companies at the time.
8. In 1995, undercover police arrested two clowns who'd been dealing drugs in Chapultepec Park in Mexico City. The cops arrived in an ambulance disguised as paramedics.
9. In 1988, Rocky Kenover set a record by making 403 parachute jumps within 24 hours; one jump every three minutes. Rocky's team consisted of 50 parachute packers, seven planes and ten pilots.
10. In 1999, Billy Mitchell achieved the world's first perfect Pac-Man game, clearing all levels with all ghosts and fruits being eaten resulting in a total of 3,333,360 points. The game took just over 6 hours, and he did it without losing a single life.

I write Fiction, too.

There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

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2 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 2 July:

1. This date in 1929 saw the birth of Phillipine first lady Imelda Marcos, who left behind 2,400 pairs of Shoes when she and her husband Ferdinand went in to exile in 1986. She said, "They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes."
2. In 1994, Colombian footballer Andres Escobar, 27, was killed outside a bar in Colombia by angry fans, for deflecting a ball into his own goal, resulting in a 2-1 loss to the United States in a World Cup match a few days earlier.
3. The chariot race scene in Ben Hur was filmed on this date in 1958.
4. In 1977, a world record speed was achieved by a tortoise named Charlie, who managed 0.28mph in South Yorkshire.
5. In 1947, an unidentified flying object crashed into the desert near Roswell, New Mexico. Official reports said it was a weather balloon; but other, unverified reports claimed it was an alien space ship and that aliens were found in the wreckage, one of which was alive.
6. In 2001, Liverpool Airport was renamed John Lennon Airport. Yoko Ono attended to unveil a new logo which included the Lennon's famous self-portrait and the words, 'Above Us Only Sky' from Imagine.
7. In 1982, The Clash's Nicky Headon was charged with stealing a bus stop sign.
8. In 1843, an alligator fell from the sky during a thunderstorm in Charleston, South Carolina.
9. In 1982, truck driver Larry Walters flew a lawn chair to 16,000 feet over San Pedro, California. He'd tied 42 helium-filled weather balloons to the chair. He made it back down safely.
10. In 1992, Christie’s auctioneers of London sold an 182 year old French Condom for £3,000.

I write Fiction, too.

There is a whole new universe of superheroes to discover in my novels. The Ultraheroes Universe includes at least one alternative dimension, good guys, bad guys, secrets, romance and more.

For more information visit My Books Page

For even more information visit My website