ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE FEBRUARY 22, 1927
THE Oxford University authorities have tried to keep secret an affair in which considerable damage was done by undergraduates to Christ Church. After the dinner of the Bullingdon Club, members returned to Christ Church with hockey sticks, copper kettles, pieces of coal and other weapons and bombarded the windows. More than 500 panes of glass were shattered.
FEBRUARY 22, 1947
A WIFE who refused to live with her motherin-law in Stevenage, Herts, was told in the Divorce Court it was for the husband to decide where the home should be. Mrs Laura Walker had alleged her husband deserted her by staying away from the home which she had provided in Notting Hill, London. Dismissing her petition, the court commissioner said: ‘The wife had an undue sense of her own independence, and put her career before her obligations as a wife.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SHEILA HANCOCK, 84. The actress and author ( right), a publican’s daughter, won her first Olivier award at 73 for her role in Cabaret. The widow of Morse star John Thaw says she hates the term ‘national treasure’, adding: ‘I know people who get called national treasures who are vile.’ PAUL ABBOTT, 57. The Bafta-winning TV scriptwriter and producer (Coronation Street, Touching Evil, State Of Play) grew up in poverty in Burnley. Both parents had walked out on their eight children by the time he was 11. Shameless, Abbott’s series for Channel 4, was loosely based on his own experiences growing up.
BORN ON THIS DAY
GEORGE WASHINGTON ( 1732- 1799). The first American president was — until Trump came along with his billions — the richest in U.S. history, worth $ 525 million in today’s money. He was also one of the sickest leaders, suffering from diphtheria, tuberculosis, smallpox, dysentery, malaria, tonsillitis and pneumonia.
ON FEBRUARY 22 ...
IN 1907, the first taxi cabs with meters began operating in London. IN 1924, Calvin Coolidge became the first U.S. president to deliver a radio address from the White House. IN 2006, £53 million was stolen from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent — in Britain’s biggest ever robbery.
WORD WIZARDRY
NEW WORD OF THE DAY Lifelogging — the videoing of one’s daily activities, using wearable technology. GUESS THE DEFINITION Ultracrepidarian (coined 1819) A) Sullen, shy and repellent in manner. B) A conceited, affected, young man. C) One who makes pronouncements on topics beyond his knowledge. Answer below. PHRASE EXPLAINED
I’ll be a monkey’s uncle: Used to express surprise or disbelief, dating back to 1925, the year of a Tennessee court case involving the legality of teaching evolution in a statefunded school; the phrase was a sarcastic response to Darwin’s theory of evolution.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
A dREAM you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality. John Lennon, singer-songwriter (1940-80)
JOKE OF THE DAY
What do you call an Italian with a rubber toe? Roberto. Guess The definition answer: C