22 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 22 July:

1. On this date in 1934, bank robber John Dillinger, 31, ‘public enemy No. 1’ met his end. FBI agents received a tip-off from Dillinger’s e-girlfriend, that he was going to see a Clark Gable film at a cinema in Chicago. Agents shot him dead when he appeared to reach for a gun at the theatre.
2. The biggest wedding in history was staged on this date in 1982 when the Reverend Sun Myung Moon married 2,200 couples in New York.
3. According to legend, a Pied Piper rid the German town of Hamelin of Rats. When the town refused to pay him, he mesmerised their children with his tunes. They followed him out of town never to be seen again. Historians say that the legend is based on real events which took place in 1284, when young men left Hamelin to find work elsewhere.
4. Staying in Hamelin, in 1724, a naked, feral boy aged about twelve was captured in the woods near the town. He was sent to Hertfordshire, England where he lived until he was about 72. He was called Peter the Wild Boy (or Wild Peter) and wore a brass collar with his name inscribed on it.
5. In 1969 Apollo XI astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, reunited aboard the command module, started their journey home after the first manned mission to the moon.
6. In 2012, Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France.
7. In 2015 the finals of the robot football World Cup were held. China defeated the Netherlands in the finals of the middle-weight non-humanoid league, but lost to Japan in the final of the small humanoid class.
8. Wireless telegraphy was first used to aid police forces on this date in 1910. The captain of the liner Montrose alerted detectives by Radio to the fact that Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen and his mistress were on board.
9. In 1930, the first officially recorded sighting of the famous Loch Ness monster took place in Scotland.
10. In 1996, an Australian guide to health and safety at work was published, which included a warning not to “place any part of one’s body in the mouth of a Crocodile.”

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21 July:

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 21 July:

1. Born on this date in 1952 was Robin Williams, US comedian and actor. The story goes that when Williams auditioned for the role of Mork in 1974, producer Gary Marshall told him to sit down. Williams did a headstand on the chair and got the part because "he was the only alien who auditioned." His films include Good Will Hunting, Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poet's Society, Hook, The Fisher King, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Birdcage and What Dreams May Come He said, “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.”
2. This date in 1948 saw the birth of Snooty, a male Florida Manatee which lived at an aquarium in Bradenton, Florida. He was one of the first recorded captive manatee births, and when he turned 69, he was the oldest manatee in captivity, possibly the oldest manatee in the world.
3. In 1984, in Jackson, Miss. a robot turned and caught a 34 year old worker between it and a safety bar, crushing him. The man died five days later, becoming the first robot-related fatality in the US.
4. 1921 The world's lowest temperature was recorded in Antarctica on this date in 1921: minus 129 deg F.
5. In 1887, there was a rain of Ants in Nancy, France.
6. In 1812, Goethe wrote in his diary that he'd spent the evening with Beethoven. He said the composer "played deliciously."
7. In 1896, film-maker Birt Acres had filmed a news item of the Prince and Princess of Wales arriving at an exhibition. When he asked their permission to show it to the public they demanded to see it first, so a screening was arranged in a marquee at Marlborough House. Their Majesties liked the film of themselves so much that they watched it twice.
8. In 1922, Greta Gustaffson got fired for her job as a hat salesperson when she asked for a leave of absence to appear in a film. She later changed her name to Greta Garbo.
9. In 1996, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil was arrested for allegedly hitting a fan who was trying to take his picture in a hotel in North Carolina. (Which begs the question, does this make him a shit?!)
10. In 1969, David Threlfall claimed his £10,000 winnings from William Hill. In 1964, he’d placed a £10 bet at odds of 1,000 – 1 against, that a human being would land on the moon before January 1971.

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20 July

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 20 July:

1. This date in 1919 saw the birth of Sir Edmund (Percival) Hillary. Mountaineer and Antarctic explorer, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first to reach the summit of Everest. On his return from the summit, he commented, “Well, we knocked the bastard off!” He also said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
2. Also born on this date, in 356 BC, was Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III of Macedon, ancient Greek king and one of the most successful military commanders in history, presumed to have been undefeated in battle. By the time of his death at 32, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks.
3. 1984 Jim Fixx, 52, athlete and writer, died on this date in 1984. His book, Jim Fixx on Running, kick-started the 1970s jogging craze. He died of a massive coronary... while jogging.
4. In 1944, there was an attempt to assassinate Adolph Hitler by means of a bomb hidden under his conference table. An oak support shielded Hitler, however, so the bomb only succeeded in blowing his Trousers off. Not so lucky were the officers who were arrested, tortured, and executed for being part of the plot.
5. In 2014, Monty Python performed their last ever comedy show at the The O2 in London.
6. In 1801. a 1,235 pound Cheese ball was pressed at the farm of Elisha Brown, Jr. The huge ball of cheese was later presented to President Thomas Jefferson at the White House.
7. London's first railway station, Euston, opened on this date in 1837. Before, the area had been described as “a quiet scene of nursery gardens”. It now had a building described as “mightier than the Pyramids of Egypt.” However, the railway itself was less impressive. For two years, trains were hauled between Euston and Camden on a winding cable.
8. On this date in 1969, Apollo XI astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon, after landing on the Sea of Tranquillity on the lunar surface at 09:18 GMT. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin established Tranquillity Base while Michael Collins orbited above. Armstrong stepped on the lunar surface and proclaimed, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Nearly 700 million earthlings watched on TV. President Richard Nixon placed the world's most distant phone call to the astronauts at Tranquility Base, a distance of about 385,000 km.
9. In 1995, an armed robber in Groningen, the Netherlands, handed a note to a shopkeeper demanding money. The shopkeeper scribbled his reply: “Sod off”, and the robber fled.
10. In 1613, the King of France examined the remains of a prehistoric giant, 25ft tall, with 10ft wide shoulders and a head 5ft from crown to chin. A century later it was correctly identified as the skeleton of a mammoth.

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19 July

 10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 19 July:

1. On this date in 1553, Lady Jane Grey, aged 15, was deposed as Queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days. Henry VIII's daughter Mary was proclaimed Queen. Lady Jane Grey was sent to the Tower, where she was beheaded a few months later.
2. In 1821, George IV was crowned King of Great Britain. His estranged wife Caroline travelled from Italy to claim her rights as queen but was barred from attending the coronation.
3. In 1941, Winston Churchill launched his "V for Victory" campaign in Europe. BBC World Service began playing the opening notes of Beethoven’s 5^th, which sounded like the Morse Code for V (...-). The two-finger "V" for Victory had signal was also introduced.
4. In 1983, people searching a clay pit in Surrey discovered fossils of a previously unknown species of carnivorous Dinosaur.
5. In 1994, Susan Montgomery from Fresno blew the largest diameter Bubble gum bubble, which had a diameter of 23 inches.
6. In 1969 Apollo 11 and astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the Moon.
7. In 1545, 700 people died when the Mary Rose, the pride of Henry VIII’s battle fleet, keeled over and sank in the Solent. The ship was finally raised in 1982.
8. In 1873, botanist and explorer William Gosse became the first European to discover Ayers Rock (now Uluru) and named it after South Australian Premier Sir Henry Ayers.
9. In 1985, George Bell of Durham, NC, won first place in a biggest feet contest and the distinction of being "Big Foot", with his size 28-1/2 Shoe. George. Bell was 7 feet 10 inches tall.
10. In 1996 Dentist Stuart Watts used Araldite to stick an acrylic beak onto Miggsy, a Macaw.

 

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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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18 July

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 18 July:

1. William Makepeace Thackaray was born on this date in 1811. He’s the novelist famous for his book Vanity Fair. Among the pseudonyms he used during his career are M.A. Titmarsh, C.H. Yellowplush, G.S. Fitzboodle, and Théophile Wagstaff.
2. American socialite Margaret Tobin Brown was born on this date in 1867. She gained the nickname "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" after surviving the sinking of the Titanic and getting one of the lifeboats to return to look for survivors.
3. This date in 1918 saw the birth of Nelson Mandela, South African political leader. He was given the nickname ‘Black Pimpernel’ while he was on the run from police. He was captured in 1962 and jailed for 27 years. He became an international legend and symbol of resistance. On his 70^th birthday in 1988 all the Western leaders sent him a card, except for Margaret Thatcher.
4. In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie announced the discovery of a new element and proposed to call it Polonium.
5. In 1976, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first athlete to score a perfect '10' in a gymnastic event. Competing at the Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada, the 14 year old went on to win six more perfect scores.
6. In 1689, lightning struck the high altar the church of Saint-Sauveur at Ligny, France. Father Lamy, a visiting priest who wrote about on the event and some strange phenomena that he observed. The statue of Christ levitated while its stand was shattered. The words of a printed text lying face down on the altar cloth were reproduced, reversed and magnified, on the cloth.
7. In 1974, the world's tallest structure, a 646m radio mast in Poland, was completed.
8. In 1994, Crayola announced the introduction of scented Crayons.
9. In 1872, Britain introduced the concept of voting by secret ballot.
10. Disneyland, the 160 acre amusement park, near Anaheim, California, opened on this date in 1955.

 

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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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17 July

10 weird and wonderful things which happened on 17 July: 

1. Born on this date in 1948 was Wayne Sleep, dancer and choreographer. At 5'2", Sleep is famous for being the shortest male dancer ever admitted into the Royal Ballet School. In 1973, he established a world record by doing an entrechat douze – a jump with six beats – this record still stands. He is also remembered for dancing with Princess Diana at the Royal Gala Performance, in Covent Garden in 1985.
2. Also born on this date, in 1952, was David Hasselhoff, actor nicknamed "The Hoff", best known for his lead roles on Knight Rider and Baywatch.
3. In 1762 Catherine II aka ‘Catherine the Great’, became Empress of Russia upon the assassination of her husband, Peter III.
4. The first custard pie in the face was seen by cinema audiences on this date in 1913 on the release of Keystone's A Noise from the Deep, in which Mabel Normand pied Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
5. The animated film Yellow Submarine premiered at The London Pavilion on this date in 1968.
6. The earliest record of a Total Solar Eclipse is from this date in 709 BC and was written in China.
7. In 1938, Douglas Groce "Wrong Way" Corrigan, 31, became famous for "accidentally" flying to Dublin from New York despite being told by both American and Irish authorities that it wasn’t allowed. Corrigan claimed his mistake was following the wrong end of his Compass needle.
8. The Great fire of London in 1666 wasn’t the first time London burned. On this date in 1212 most of the borough of Southwark went up in smoke, including houses on London Bridge, and St Mary Overie’s church which stood on the site of the current Southwark Cathedral. More than a thousand people are said to have perished.
9. In 1790, the first Sewing machine was patented by Thomas Saint of London. However, his design was never manufactured.
10. In 1988, the British snail speed record was set by Tracker, a Norfolk garden Snail. He reached .219cm a second and won a silver tankard stuffed with Lettuce leaves.

 

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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16 July

 10 weird and wonderful things that happened on 16 July:

1. This date in 1911 saw the birth of Virginia Katherine McNath, better known as Ginger Rogers the actress-dancer best known as the partner of Fred Astaire. Her films include 42nd Street, The Gay Divorcee, Top Hat, Shall We Dance and Stage Door. It was said of her, “Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels.”
2. In 2017, Jodie Whittaker was announced as Peter Capaldi’s replacement, and the thirteenth incarnation of Doctor Who, becoming the first woman to take the role.
3. In 1993, motorcyclist Kelly Cordry was killed when a large black dog fell on him from a railway bridge in Commerce City, Colorado. The motorcycle slammed into the crash barrier and Cordry was thrown into the path of oncoming traffic.
4. In 1966, three musicians in London, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker formed the band Cream. They would go on to become one of the most popular and influential bands of the 1960's.
5. In 1994, the first of 21 major fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which had broken up 2 years earlier, hit Jupiter, creating a fireball which was 1,200 miles wide and 600 miles high. The collision began a series of spectacular explosions, each unleashing more energy than all the Earth's nuclear arsenal put together.
6. In 1950, 205,000 people formed the largest crowd ever to attend a football match in Rio de Janiero. It was a world cup match between Brazil and Uruguay. Brazil lost 1-2. This was the first time that Uruguay had won a World Cup.
7. In 1827, prisoners at King’s Bench Prison, London attempted to hold elections for a prisoner to represent them as a Member of Parliament. While it was only a game to relieve boredom, the governor decided the prisoners were enjoying themselves too much, and attempted to stop it. A riot ensued.
8. Dolly Parton's Dollywood Amusement Park opened in Tennessee on this date in 1986.
9. In 1439, Kissing was banned in England in an attempt to stop the spread of pestilence and disease.
10. In 1973, Roger English of La Jolla, California, broke the record for dancing the Twist after twisting for 102 hours, 29 minutes.

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