ON THIS DAY Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN and ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD

April 25, 2017

FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE APRIL 25, 1957 THE Ministry of Transport last night issued startling facts about overcrowding on Britain’s roads. The number of vehicles is increasing at the rate of 500,000 a year; since 1939, road traffic has more than doubled. When petrol rationing ends, the roads will feel the full flood of Britain’s 7 million vehicles; insurance companies are expected to raise premiums without delay. APRIL 25, 1962 MRS AILEEN MOSS spent 45 minutes at the bedside of her badly injured son last night, then said: ‘I want Stirling to give up racing now.’ Her husband Alfred, who was also at his son’s bedside at Atkinson Morley Hospital, Wimbledon, said: ‘I shall do my best to persuade him, but he is 32 years old and has a mind of his own.’ [ The accident ended his professional F1 career.] HAPPY BIRTHDAY FIONA BRUCE, 53. The BBC newsreader and Antiques Roadshow host ( right) agreed to accept the 2010 Rear Of The Year award but said later: ‘It was the most hypocritical, ridiculous, ludicrous thing I’ve ever done, and I know intellectually of course I shouldn’t do it because it’s demeaning. Then I thought, “Sod it, what the hell?” So I accepted it.’ WILLIAM ROACHE, 85. The actor, who was born in Nottinghamshire, is the world’s longest-serving soap star, having debuted as Ken Barlow in episode one of Coronation Street in 1960. Nicknamed the ‘Lothario of the cobbles’, he has refused to deny having slept with 1,000 women. BORN ON THIS DAY GUGLIELMO MARCONI(1874-1937). The Italian Nobel- prize winning physicist discovered how to send radio waves across his parents’ attic in 1895. In 1901, he transmitted the first wireless signals across the Atlantic. When Marconi died, radio stations all over the world went silent in tribute. JOHAN CRUYFF (1947-2016). Described as Europe’s first superstar footballer, Cruyff (right) helped Holland reach the 1974 World Cup final. He was famous for the ‘Cruyff turn’ in which he surprised opponents by rotating 180 degrees. ‘Playing football is very simple,’ he declared, ‘but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.’ ON APRIL 25... IN 1856, Lewis Carroll met Alice Liddell, the little girl who would inspire Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. IN 1859, British and French engineers broke ground for the Suez Canal. IN 1972, Polaroid launched the world’s first mainstream instant camera. WORD WIZADRY NEW WORD OF THE DAY

Ladvert: An advertisement that features and is designed to appeal to a ‘lad’. GUESS THE DEFINITION Mimp (coined 1861) A) A cloth hanging from the back of a soldier’s cap as sun protection. B) To play with one’s food. C) A large dress-pannier, fashionably fixed to a lady’s dress. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED Stir up a hornet’s nest: Refers to the bear who, being fond of honey, often gets stung after mistakenly poking its snout into a hornet’s nest in search of its favourite food. QUOTE FOR TODAY WhAT we know is a drop; what we don’t know is an ocean. Sir Isaac Newton, scientist (1642-1727) JOKE OF THE DAY WHICH animal is best at hitting a cricket ball? A bat. Guess The Definition answer: B