ON THIS DAY
June 23, 2016
IT’S DAY 175 OF 2016
There are 175 Toby Carverys in the UK and one peckish Twitter user — going under the moniker Punctured Lung @TobyQuest— has set himself the goal of eating in all of them. So far, he’s managed 174. On average, there are around 175,000
birthdays in the UK every day. Besides February 29, the least common dates for a birthday are December 25 and 26. The most common is September 26. AFTERNOON tea was introduced 175 years
ago by anna, Duchess of Bedford, a friend of Queen victoria, who is said to have come up with the idea after complaining of ‘that sinking feeling’ during the late afternoon.
THERE ARE 191 DAYS LEFT
The first modern stock market crash occurred 191 years ago after a large number of investments in an imaginary Central american land known as Poyais — pushed by Scottish con-artist gregor Macgregor. DURING the last Parliament, some 191 MPs employed a person to whom they were ‘connected’, such as a husband, wife, partner, or relative, as an assistant or researcher.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ZINEDINE ZIDANE, 44. The former French footballer, nicknamed ‘Zizou’ and now manager of real Madrid, famously butted italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest during extra time of the 2006 World Cup final. Zidane claimed Materazzi had insulted his mother and sister. he was sent off and France lost the match on penalties. a controversial 16fttall statue of the butt was unveiled at the Pompidou Centre in Paris six years later. K. T. TUNSTALL, 41. The St andrews-born singer- songwriter is best known for hit Suddenly i See. adopted at birth, she later searched for and found her hong-Kong born biological mother, Carol-ann, who is married to David Orr, a doorman in edinburgh. he stood as a candidate for the British national Party in the 2010 general election.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ALAN TURING ( 19121954). The pioneering British mathematician and computer scientist’s codebreaking work at Bletchley Park during World War ii saved thousands of lives and became the foundation for modern computing. in 1952, he was convicted of indecency after admitting a homosexual relationship and was chemically castrated. Two years later, he committed suicide by biting into an apple laced with cyanide. STUART SUTCLIFFE (1940-1962). The edinburgh-born artist and bass guitarist was the ill-fated ‘Fifth Beatle’. While The Beatles ( a name he created) were in hamburg he became engaged to german photographer astrid Kirchherr, the woman who gave the band their famous mop haircuts, then quit music to study art. he died, aged 21, of a cerebral haemorrhage in 1962.
ON JUNE 23...
IN 1956, gamal abdel nasser was elected President of egypt by 99.9 per cent of the electorate. it helped that he was the only candidate.
IN 1940, adolf hitler, his forces having taken control of France, made his one and only trip during the war to Paris. Before he left, he ordered that a memorial to British nurse edith Cavell, who was executed by the germans in World War i, be demolished.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Never ruin an apology with an excuse. U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
JOKES OF THE DAY
WHAT has four legs, is big, green and fuzzy, and if it fell out of a tree would kill you? A snooker table.