ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE APRIL 15, 1965
IT’S a battle to the death when the dreaded Daleks clash with an adversary just as nasty as themselves — the king-size Mechanoids. The new robot monsters make their debut in the BBC sci-fi serial, Doctor Who, on Saturday. The actors who man the robots are hoping for victory for the Mechanoids. One explained yesterday: ‘They’re so much more comfortable.’
APRIL 15, 1966
FAT bus drivers can be dangerous, Glasgow’s transport manager warned yesterday. They are more liable to heart attack — endangering themselves and passengers. Deemed unacceptable unless they are willing to go on a diet, one driver said, ‘I’m cutting out potatoes, white bread and whisky,’ while others said they were giving up beer, cakes and sweets.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
DAME EMMA THOMPSON, 60. The London-born actress (right) is the only person to have won an Oscar for both acting and writing. Her Sense And Sensibility co-star Greg Wise was told by a fortune teller he would meet his future wife on set. He spent weeks pursuing Kate Winslet before falling for Thompson (they have been married 16 years). BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH, 61. The poet and writer from Birmingham is best known for his novel Refugee Boy. He left school at 13, had his first book published at 22 and now has 16 honorary doctorates to his name. By 15, he had become vegan, saying: ‘As the only black kid in my primary school playground, animals had become my friends.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519). The Italian artist, architect and engineer (right) filled notebooks with backwards handwriting that could only be read in a mirror. It is thought he did this because he was left-handed and didn’t want his words to smudge. The painter of The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa, who dissected humans and animals to perfect his anatomical drawings, was the first person to observe the curvature of the human spine. KIM IL SUNG (1912-1994). The first leader of North Korea is the grandfather of premier Kim Jong-un. There are thought to be 34,000 statues of him across the country. During his lifetime, everything received by a North Korean — from rice to a home — was considered to have come directly from the ‘Great Leader’. But, following his death, the country was gripped by famine in which up to 3.5 million citizens are said to have died.
ON APRIL 15…
IN 1770, English chemist Joseph Priestley discovered rubber could erase pencil marks. IN 1912, the Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people. IN 1989, a crush at the Leppings Lane end of Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground led to the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Ascian (1847) A) Diminutive, puny. B) Without a shadow. C) An eccentric. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Not worth a tinker’s damn — something of no value; the social status of tinkers, who were wandering menders of pots and pans, was low and they had a tendency to swear.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
We must love one another or die. W. H. Auden, English poet (1907-1973)
JOKE OF THE DAY
MY COWS were stolen last night. But now I’ve beefed up my security. Guess the Definition answer: B.