ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 166 of 2016 THIS year marks the 166th anniversary of the first Wenlock Olympian Games, a precursor to the modern Olympics. Held in Much Wenlock in Shropshire, they were founded by Dr William Penny Brookes, who took inspiration from the Ancient Greeks’ sporting contest, and early Games included cycling on penny farthings, a blindfolded wheelbarrow race and an old women’s race. IF THE UK votes for Brexit next week and Britain leaves the European Union, the height of the tallest building in the EU will drop by
166ft as The Shard (1,016ft) in London exits the list and Frankfurt’s Commerzbank Tower (850ft) takes over the number-one position. In 2014, Swiss gardener Beni Meier grew the world’s heaviest pumpkin at 166 st — it could only be moved by a lorry. THERE ARE 200 DAYS LEFT TRAnSPORT for London’s Lost Property Office is at 200 Baker Street, which handles around 300,000 items each year, including 150 mobile phones a day. More bizarre items handed in include a full drum kit, an urn full of ashes, a prosthetic leg, a house carpet, a judge’s wig and £15,000 in cash. In 1993, President Bill Clinton was accused of having the ‘most expensive haircut in history’ when he paid a hairdresser $200 to tend his locks while Air Force One was on the ground at Los Angeles airport, leading to two runways being shut down for an hour. Although a later inquiry said no commercial flights had been delayed, ‘Hairgate’ had already done its damage. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOnALD TRUMP, 70. The billionaire and Republican politician will be the oldestever U.S. President should he win the White House election later this year, beating Ronald Reagan, who was 69 years and 349 days old when he was first inaugurated in 1981. Hillary Clinton, who’ll turn 69 in October, will be a few months shy of Reagan’s record should she win. PAUL O’GRADY, 61. The comedian and TV presenter, who came to fame through his drag queen act Lily Savage, said he would leave the UK and move to Venice if the Tories won the election last year. A year on, he still lives on his farm in Kent. BORN ON THIS DAY CHE GUEVARA (1928-67). The Argentine - born medical student became a communist revolutionary during his travels across Latin America and played a major role in helping Fidel Castro take control of Cuba in 1959. He was later executed by firing squad while leading a rebellion in Bolivia. SAM WAnAMAKER (1919-93). The Chicagoborn actor, director and father of actress Zoe Wanamaker relocated his family to the UK during the anti-communist McCarthy trials. He was instrumental in the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, but died before it was opened. ON JUNE 14th...
IN 1949, a rhesus monkey called Albert II was sealed inside a V2 rocket by U.S. scientists and sent into space. He survived the outward journey but died when the rocket crashed on its return after a parachute failure.
IN 1982, the Falklands War came to a close after 74 days with the surrender of Argentine forces in Port Stanley to the British.
IN 1989, socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested for slapping a motorcycle patrolman after he stopped her Rolls-Royce in Beverly Hills. She was later sent to jail for three days. QUOTE FOR TODAY Punctuality is the virtue of the bored. Novelist Evelyn Waugh (1903-66) JOKE OF THE DAY WHAT blood group is the one that is most commonly misspelled? Typo.