ON THIS DAY
January 16, 2020
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JANUARY 16, 1945
MAYORS of blitzed London boroughs will distribute to children 100,000lb of sweets which are being shipped from Australia in a few weeks’ time, following an appeal by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne.
JANUARY 16, 1997
PRINCESS DIANA cut through the controversy over her Angola visit with a simple statement: ‘All I am trying to do is help.’ She spoke out after donning body armour to walk a cleared strip through a minefield. Diana was dismayed by the attacks on her. Tory MPs accused her of being ‘uninformed’ and compared her to Brigitte Bardot.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SADE, 61 (pictured). The Smooth Operator singer was born Helen Folasade Adu in Nigeria, but grew up in essex. She is so popular in the U.S., she was the best- selling British musician there in 2012, pushing Adele into second place. Canadian rapper Drake is such a big fan he has two tattoos of her face on his torso.
JOHN CARPENTER, 72. The American filmmaker, best known for horror classic Halloween, also directed escape From New York and The Fog. Carpenter, who turned down directing Top Gun, said: ‘I started when you could actually make a low-budget exploitation movie and get it into cinemas. Nowadays, it’s so ridiculously expensive. Could I succeed if I started today? Probably not. I’d be rejected.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
DIAN FOSSEY (1932-1985). The American primatologist was known for her 18-year study of mountain gorillas in rwanda, showing them to be gentle, sociable animals. She was murdered, aged 53, and her killer — thought to be a poacher — has never been found. Fossey was buried in a cemetery she built for gorillas killed by poachers. She was played by Sigourney Weaver in the 1988 film Gorillas In The Mist.
ANDRÉ MICHELIN (1853-1931). Alongside his brother, the French industrialist founded the Michelin tyre company. In 1900, to boost car sales and in turn sell more tyres, he published his first guide for French motorists, rating restaurants by awarding ‘Michelin stars’. For two decades, these were free, until Michelin (pictured) walked into a tyre workshop to see his guides being used to prop up a bench. He decided that ‘man only truly respects what he pays for’ and started selling them for seven francs.
ON JANUARY 16...
IN 1919, Prohibition became law in the U.S., banning the production and sale of beer, wine and spirits throughout the country.
IN 1970, police seized eight lithographs featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono having sex, under the Obscene Publications Act.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Distrain (c. late 13th century)
A) A forced obligation. B) To release. C) To stretch. Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
No spring chicken: Meaning no longer young. From the early 1700s, it comes from spring being the typical season for chicks to hatch and be ready for slaughter at three months — they are too tough if left longer.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Success is falling down nine times and getting up ten.
Jon Bon Jovi, U.S. rock singer
JOKE OF THE DAY
HOW do we know rapunzel liked to party?
She was always letting her hair down.
Guess The Definition answer: A.