ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
FEBRUARY 7, 1918 ThE Representation of the People Bill last night received the Royal Assent. The revolution it creates is shown by these facts: Voters rose from 8,357,000 to 16,000,000. 6,000,000 of these are, for the first time, women. Youths of 19 who are, or have been, on active service in the Army or Navy also now have the vote. FEBRUARY 7, 1964 BRITAIN and France have agreed in principle to build a Channel Tunnel, Minister of Transport Mr Ernest Marples announced yesterday. Britain believes the £170,000,000 project is technically possible and economically desirable. however, it may be years yet before work is begun.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
AShToN KUTChER, 41. The American actor played Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2013 film Jobs and was one of the world’s highest- paid TV actors when starring in Two And A half Men, earning $750,000 per episode. Also a respected investor, he co-runs a $250million (£193,000million) portfolio. The ex-husband of Demi Moore is now married to Bad Moms actress Mila Kunis. his twin brother Michael has cerebral palsy and needed a heart transplant when they were 13. RAY MEARS, 55. The bushcraft and survival expert from Surrey, has dismissed TV rival Bear Grylls as ‘a showman’. Mears survived a helicopter crash in 2005 in which his cameraman and pilot broke their backs. he was invited on the Graham Norton Show to show guests how to light a fire, but failed as, unbeknown to him and Norton, the health and safety officer had sprayed the set with fire retardant.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ChARLES DICKENS (1812-1870). The great writer would have two tablespoons of rum and cream for breakfast, a pint of champagne for tea and a sherry with a raw egg beaten into it just before curtain up when giving theatrical readings. he contributed slow- coach, dustbin, casualty ward, fairy story and egg box to the language, according to the oxford English Dictionary. he kept ravens as pets. DoRA BRYAN (1923-2014). The Bafta and olivier awardwinning actress, who specialised in dizzy and scatterbrained types, was a National Theatre member and won international acclaim in 1961 film A Taste of honey playing an alcoholic mother. She also starred in Carry on Sergeant, Last of The Summer Wine and Absolutely Fabulous.
ON FEBRUARY 7...
IN 2008, Amy Winehouse was told she could not sing live at the Grammys as her U.S. visa application had been rejected. IN 2013, Mississippi became the last U.S. state to officially abolish slavery.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Tilly-vally (1882) A) Touch and go. B) hogwash, twaddle. C) headlong. Answer below
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Punchline: The climactic words or phrase of a joke or story; the phrase comes from showbusiness, where the final lines of a play or a song would be delivered to greatest possible effect by ‘punching’ them.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
ETERNITY is a terrible thought. I mean, where’s it going to end? Sir Tom Stoppard, British playwright
JOKE OF THE DAY
I hAVE a new job testing cat flaps with my toes. I’m doing it to get a foot in the door. Guess The Definition answer: B