ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 348...
THE Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest marine park, covering 348,000 sq km. Earlier this year, a tongue-in-cheek ‘ obituary’ by travel writer Rowan Jacobsen, in U.S. magazine Outside, went viral online. It caused global consternation before scientists said that although the reef was under stress from rising sea temperatures, it was not dead. IN 2005, the Ministry of Defence was criticised for spending £348,000 on flatscreen TVs that were — according to one MP — used to watch cricket. Officials insisted they were used for video conferences.
THERE ARE 18 DAYS LEFT
KING Charles I used to enjoy putting his
18in tall court dwarf between two pieces of bread and pretending to eat him. THE 18th Duchess of Alba, who died in 2014 aged 88, had more titles than any other person on the planet, according to Guinness World Records. The Spanish aristocrat (right) was a duchess seven times over, a countess 22 times and a marquesa 24 times. THE world record for the fastest 100m by a pantomime horse (female) is just over 18 sec
onds by two Brits — Samantha Kavanagh (front) and Melissa Archer (rear).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, 87. The Canadian actor is best known for playing Captain Von Trapp in The Sound Of Music, but said it was his toughest role because ‘it was so awful and sentimental and gooey . . .’ He has previously called the 1965 film ‘The Sound Of Mucus’ and compared working with Julie Andrews to ‘being hit over the head with a Valentine’s card’. TAYLOR SWIFT ( pictured), 27. She was named after fellow American singer- songwriter James Taylor. Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm and her job was ‘picking the praying mantis pods off of the trees so the bugs wouldn’t hatch inside people’s houses’. She is the only artist to have had three albums sell more than a million copies within a week of release and is reportedly a fan of The Great British Bake Off.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ARCHIE MOORE (1916-1998). The American boxer was the longest-reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion ever at nine years, four months and 24 days and fought professionally for almost 30 years. He said he learnt his diet secrets from an Aborigine, quipping: ‘ Have you ever seen a fat Australian?’ The key was chewing meat to extract the juices before spitting it out. WERNER VON SIEMENS (1816-1892). The German electrical engineer played a crucial role in the development of the telegraph industry. He was so influential that his name was adopted as the unit of electrical conductance (the SI or siemens). He also founded Siemens, which today is the largest electronics company in Europe.
ON DECEMBER 13...
In 1958, a squirrel monkey disappeared in the South Atlantic, having been fired into space in the nose of a rocket. Gordo survived the space flight, but the parachutes failed to open on his descent to Earth.
In 1989, South African president F.W. de Klerk and jailed anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela met for the first time. Mandela was released from prison two months later, after 27 years.
In 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured. He was found by U.S. forces hiding in a hole near his home town of Tikrit in Iraq.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Happiness is a mystery like religion and should never be rationalised G. K. Chesterton, English writer (1874-1936)
JOKE OF THE DAY
HOW do snowmen get around? They ride an icicle.