ON THIS DAY
September 16, 2017
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE SEPTEMBER 16, 1940
LONDON had its greatest thrill of the war yesterday when German bombers were shot down in daylight at Kennington, Victoria and Streatham. People out in the open set up a cheer for our fighters. Others flocked out of the shelters to see what it was all about and joined the cheering.
SEPTEMBER 16, 1964
A RECORD of The Beatles singing A Hard Day’s Night, a bikini and a birth control pill are among 44 articles to be buried in a time capsule at the New York World’s Fair. The box will not be opened until the year 6964.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
MICKEY ROURKE, 65. The U.S. star’s career first peaked with 1986 erotic movie 9½ Weeks. When the lead roles dried up he went back to his first love, boxing. In 1994 he gave that up, had surgery to reconstruct his battered face and returned to acting — and won a Golden Globe for 2008’s The Wrestler. Rourke (above) said his hardman image has drawbacks: ‘[Rude fans] nudge you at the bar, and if you give someone a left hook, it’s half a million.’ JUDITH MILLER, 66. The BBC Antiques Roadshow expert co-founded Miller’s Antiques Handbook — known as the industry bible. Her weakness is chairs: ‘Every time I go on a trip, my husband says: “Repeat after me, we do not need another single chair.” ’ Her other obsession is rocker Bruce Springsteen, whom she travels the world to see in concert.
BORN ON THIS DAY
SIR ALExANDER KORDA (1893-1956). The Hungarian-born director behind The Private Life of Henry VIII and The Four Feathers was the first in the film industry to receive a knighthood. The Tiger Who Came To Tea author Judith Kerr credits him with saving herself and her family from the Nazis. Korda bought a screenplay from her father for £1,000. The film was never made, but the cash funded their escape to the UK. B.B. KING (1925-2015). Blues legend Riley B. King got his stage name from his days as a radio DJ, when he was known as the Beale Street Blues Boy, later shortened to BB. He named all his guitars Lucille after a woman two men fought over in a club where King ( pictured) was appearing. The brawl caused a fire and King risked his life re-entering the venue to save his instrument.
ON SEPTEMBER 16…
IN 1968, Royal Mail launched a two-tier system of first and second-class stamps. IN 1994, the Government lifted the broadcasting ban on Sinn Fein members.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION Woofits (coined 1918) A) Vague feeling of being unwell. B) In the wrong direction. C) Pendulous skin. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
In a nutshell: To sum up concisely. From Roman philosopher Cicero, who said Homer’s The Iliad could be written on parchment small enough to fit in a walnut shell.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
A POLITICIAN was a person with whose politics you did not agree. When you did agree, he was a statesman. David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister (1863-1945)
JOKE OF THE DAY
THE other day my wife and I were laughing about how competitive we are — but I laughed more. Guess The Definition answer: A.