ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
MARCH 22, 1945 THE sensational disclosure was made in the House of Commons last night that at one time during the war Britain had only one drop hammer capable of forging the crankshaft of a Spitfire engine. MPs had guessed there were times when our resources were thin during the dark days, but probably had not thought we were as short as this. MARCH 22, 1967 ALL the snakes which vanished from London Zoo were found by police in the cellar of a North London house yesterday. A 16-yearold boy was charged with stealing 24 snakes and a snake bag. Eight poisonous reptiles and one harmless sand boa were found dead. An official said: ‘Whoever handled the snakes is the luckiest person in London tonight.’
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
BEVERLEY KNIGHT, 44. The soul singer (pictured) from Wolverhampton once sang to Russian leader vladimir Putin. She said: ‘Tony Blair (then Prime Minister) introduced me to Putin and there was a tingle all the way up my arm. He reminded me of Poison Ivy in X-Men — the character who kills the person she touches if she doesn’t wear gloves.’ ANDREW LLOyD WEBBER, 69. Last year, he became the first composer to have four Broadway shows running at the same time since Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1953. Reportedly worth £715million, Lord LloydWebber is beaten on Britain’s music rich list only by Sir Paul McCartney.
BORN ON THIS DAY
SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641). The Antwerpborn portraitist was known for shamelessly flattering his sitters. Charles I’s niece, Sophia of Bavaria, was shocked when she met his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria (right), having only seen van Dyck’s portrait. She said: ‘I was surprised to find that the queen, who looked so fine in painting, was a small woman raised up on her chair, with long skinny arms and teeth like defence works projecting from her mouth.’ MARCEL MARCEAU (1923-2007). The legendary French mime artist became iconic as white-faced clown Bip. As well as starring with Jane Fonda in sci-fi film Barbarella, he also won an Emmy and was a pal of Michael Jackson, inspiring the star’s dance moves.
ON MARCH 22...
IN 1962, Barbra Streisand made her Broadway debut aged 19 in the musical I Can get It For you Wholesale.
IN 1963, Secretary of State for War John Profumo threatened to sue anyone who said he was guilty of impropriety with Christine Keeler. Within months, he had quit after admitting an affair and lying to Parliament.
WORD WIZARDRY
NEW TERM OF THE DAY SBNR (an acronym) — spiritual, but not religious, as seen on dating websites. GUESS THE DEFINITION Homer (from Hebrew) A) A measure of ten baths or 100 gallons. B) A small cavity in a rock. C) A plough. Answer below PHRASE EXPLAINED
Coals and coke — rhyming slang for broke; both used to be supplied in large blocks that had to be broken down before their use.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Edgar Allan Poe, U.S. writer (1809-1849)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you call an imaginary colour? A pigment of your imagination. Guess the definition answer: A.