ON THIS DAY
November 5, 2016
IT’S DAY 310 . . .
THE Queen — the wealthiest female monarch in the world — saw her personal fortune increase from £310 million in 2012 to £340 million this year. It includes the royal stamp collection, stud, jewellery and cars. BRITAIN has an average 310 people of retirement age for every 1,000 of working age, says the Office for National Statistics. By 2039, this is projected to rise to 370. THE highest volcanic eruption detected in our solar system was a 310-mile plume emerging from Jupiter’s moon, Io, in 2001 by Nasa’s Galileo spacecraft. Io is the most volcanic body in the solar system, with hundreds of volcanoes and volcanic geysers.
THERE ARE 56 DAYS LEFT
TRAFFIC wardens started patrolling British streets 56 years ago and had the power to issue £2 fines. The first ticket issued was slapped on a Ford Popular belonging to Dr Thomas Creighton, who was answering an emergency call at a West end hotel. The ticket was subsequently cancelled. CHILD actress Shirley Temple (right) — star of Curly Top and Heidi among many other movies — always had precisely 56 curls in her hair, styled laboriously by her mother Gertrude every night. She retired from films aged 22, went into politics and was later U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. MOST of us may be right-handed, but when using a computer keyboard, on average, our left hands are responsible for 56 per cent of the keystrokes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ALEXA CHUNG, 33. The Hampshire-born model and TV presenter has her own range at M&S and a £4,000 Mulberry handbag named after her. She was offered a place at King’s College, London, to study english but was too busy modelling to take it up. TATUM O’NEAL, 53. The American actress is the youngest person to win an Oscar — aged nine, in 1974, for her role in Paper Moon opposite her father Ryan O’Neal. She was Michael Jackson’s ‘first real date’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
RAYMOND LOEWY (1893-1986). The French-born American industrial designer was described as the ‘father of stream-lining’. He was responsible for the Coca-Cola bottle and his trademark look was applied to hundreds of products, from toothbrushes and pens to fridges and cars. He also designed the Shell logo that is still in use today. VIVIEN LeIGH (1913-1967). The actress and Laurence Olivier’s second wife won an Oscar for her role as Scarlett O’Hara in 1939’s Gone With The Wind. She worked for 125 days on the film and was paid $25,000 (the equivalent of $350,000 today), while her co- star Clark Gable was paid almost five times as much for 71 days’ work.
ON NOVEMBER 5 . . .
IN 1605, the Gunpowder Plot was foiled when Guy Fawkes was arrested before he was able to blow up Parliament. In 2002, he was named the 30th Greatest Briton in a poll conducted by the BBC.
IN 1909, Britain’s first Woolworths opened in Church Street, Liverpool. On the first day, customers — who were entertained by a local orchestra and given free cups of tea — were allowed only to look at the products.
IN 1935, boardgame Monopoly went on sale. Since then, 275 million sets have been sold.
IN 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
EVERY man loves what he is good at. Thomas Shadwell, English dramatist (1642-92)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you get when you cross a dinosaur with fireworks? Dinomite.