ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 324 OF 2015
BuILT in 1889 for the Paris Exposition and once referred to as an oversized electricity pylon, the Eiffel Tower is 324 metres (1,063ft) tall — roughly the height of three St Paul’s Cathedrals. WHEN Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 324th goal for Real Madrid last month in a game against Malmo, he became the club’s top goalscorer of all time. THE BBC sent 324 staff to cover the Glastonbury Festival this summer. The corporation refused to reveal how much this cost, but if they had paid for full-price tickets, it would have been £75,492.
THERE ARE 41 DAYS LEFT
IN JuST 41 days in 1979, Sebastian Coe (pictured), now Lord Coe, set three world records — in the 800m, 1,500m and the mile. CANADA is just over 41 times the size of the united Kingdom. The u.S. is just under 41 times the size of the uK, while Australia is roughly 32 times its size. A SALuTE of 41 guns is fired from Hyde Park on the birth of a royal infant. To celebrate the same occasion, there will be 62 guns fired from the Tower of London — the extra 21 being because the salute is from The City Of London. WHEN the Empire State Building was constructed in New York between 1930 and 1931, it cost $41 million to build.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
BO DEREK, 59, right. The Californian actress and model, born Mary Cathleen Collins, was the object of Dudley Moore’s desire in the film 10. In golfing terms, a ‘Bo Derek’ is used for a score of 10 on any hole. JOE BIDEN, 73. The teetotal, Pennsylvania-born u.S. VicePresident was an early favourite in the 1988 presidential race until he was accused of plagiarising a speech originally used by Neil Kinnock when he lost the uK General Election in 1987. ORLANDO FIGES, 56. The London-born professor is best known for his books on Russian history. In 2010, using a pseudonym, he posted unfavourable reviews on Amazon of his rivals’ books on Russian history and wrote favourable reviews of his own books.
BORN ON THIS DAY
EDWIN HuBBLE (1925-1968). The American astronomer, regarded as one of the most important figures in cosmology, showed that the universe is expanding. The Hubble Space Telescope was named after him — as was a crater on the Moon and a highway in Missouri, u.S. ALISTAIR COOKE (1908-2004). The Salford-born journalist whose Letter From America on the BBC World Service was, at 58 years, the world’s longest running speech radio show in history. He grew up in a boarding house in Blackpool, where he met his first Americans: seven soldiers billeted there before going to war in 1917.
ON NOVEMBER 20 . . .
IN 1805, Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, had its first performance at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. IN 1947, 21-year old Princess Elizabeth married 26-year old Philip Mountbatten in Westminster Abbey, having saved up her clothing coupons for the material used in the Norman Hartnell designed dress. IN 1970, the last ten-shilling notes were officially withdrawn by the Bank of England.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
A WomAn can be overdressed, but never over-elegant.
Coco Chanel (1883-1971)
JOKE OF THE DAY
DID you hear about the accountant who was afraid of negative numbers? He would stop at nothing to avoid them.