ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 220 OF 2015
FOR every £1,000 spent on Scotch whisky in the UK, the people who make, distribute and sell it take home about £220 between them. The other £780 goes to the Treasury.
THERE are 220 cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, of whom only 120 are under the age of 80.
THE Sun travels through space at 220 km a second, which is just over 490,000 mph.
THE Avengers super-hero film from 2012, starring Robert Downey Jnr and Scarlett Johansson, had a $220 million (£142 million) budget. It became the third-highest grossing film in history, making $1.52 billion (£1 billion) at the box office.
THERE ARE 145 DAYS LEFT
THE fastest jaws in the animal kingdom belong to the tiny trap-jaw ant, Odontomachus bauri, whose mandibles snap shut at 145 miles per hour.
A DINOSAUR the size of a turkey that roamed South America 145 million years ago has been named Chilesaurus diegosuarezi after the seven-year- old boy who discovered it in April while playing.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, the longestserving and only physically disabled U.S. leader in history, was in office for 145 months.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
SIMON WESTON, 54, right. The Welsh Guards veteran was severely burned during the Falklands War when his troopship, the Sir Galahad, was bombed. Out of his platoon of 30 men, 22 were killed. Weston later met and made his peace with Carlos Cachon, the Argentinian pilot who carried out the attack.
MANCHESTER UNITED manager Louis van Gaal, 64. The Dutchman gave a unique half-time motivational speech when he was manager of Bayern Munich — he dropped his trousers and told his players they needed to play with some of what he had.
F1 CHAMPION Nigel Mansell, 62. After a 2010 crash left him concussed, he started learning card tricks to strengthen his memory. He had such aptitude he was accepted into the Magic Circle the following year.
DUSTIN HOFFMAN, 78. The star, who was flatmates with Gene Hackman when the pair were struggling actors, based his Oscarwinning performance in 1988’s Rain Man on a patient he worked with when he was a nursing aide.
BORN ON THIS DAY
TERRY NATION (1930-97). Cardiff-born scriptwriter who created two classic BBC TV series, Survivors and Blake’s 7. After writing comedy scripts for Tony Hancock, he achieved science fiction immortality by creating the Daleks (right) and Davros for Doctor Who.
RONNIE BIGGS (1929-2013). Infamous for his later escape from Wandsworth Prison and his time in exile in Brazil, the South London-born Biggs was celebrating his 34th birthday on the day of the Great Train Robbery, 52 years ago today.
ON AUGUST 8th . . .
IN 1991, British journalist John McCarthy was freed in Lebanon, having been held hostage since 1986, a total of 1,943 days.
IN 1540, Catherine Howard was announced as Henry VIII’s new queen and fifth wife. Catherine — who would be beheaded within two years — had been maid of honour to Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
IN 1936, horse-drawn vehicles were banned from Regent Street and New Oxford Street as motor traffic grew.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
IF YOU’RE going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill (1874-19 5)
JOKE OF THE DAY
FOR sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened.