ON THIS DAY
October 2, 2015
IT’S DAY 275 OF 2015
ON average, 275 postmen and women are attacked by dogs each month in the UK. IT’S 275 years since Admiral Edward Vernon first issued a ration of diluted rum to sailors. The drink became known as ‘grog’, after his nickname ‘Old Grog’, a reference to his fondness for wearing coats made of grogram cloth, a mix of silk and wool. FUGU, the flesh of the Puffer fish, contains a poison 275 times more deadly than cyanide. In Japan, more than 30 people have died since the year 2000 after eating the rare and dangerous delicacy. THE 2,500-year- old ‘General Sherman’, a giant sequoia that is 275ft tall, is the largest known single-stem tree in the world. With a circumference of 103ft at the base, it grows in the Sequoia National Park, California.
THERE ARE 90 DAYS LEFT
DOING mental exercises, such as crosswords, sudokus and puzzles, is claimed to burn as many as 90 calories per hour. THE largest breed of penguin, the Emperor (right), can weigh up to 90lb — just 25lb less than the average weight of a supermodel. OF THE world’s volcanic activity, 90 per cent takes place in its oceans. The South Pacific has the largest concentration of active volcanoes, with 1,133 volcanic cones identified in an area the size of New York State.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
STING, 64. The singer was a tax collector, among other jobs, before he came to fame as the frontman of The Police. DONNA KARAN, 67. The fashion designer and founder of the DKNY clothing label was born Donna Ivy Faske in Queens, New York. She is credited with inventing the leotard-style ‘body’, which defined Eighties’ fashion almost as much as the shoulder pad. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ, 66. The American portrait photographer first set her sights on being a painter. She photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono at their apartment in New York and left only hours before he was murdered on December 8, 1980. ANNA FORD, 72. The TV presenter is famed for helping launch TV-am in 1983. Twice married, she was briefly engaged to astronaut David Scott, one of only 12 men ever to have walked on the Moon.
BORN ON THIS DAY
GROUCHO MARX (18901977), right. Considered one of the greatest comedians of all time, he was born Julius Henry Marx in New York City. When he died, just three days after the demise of Elvis Presley, he left a note stating that he wanted to be buried ‘on top of Marilyn Monroe’. MAHATMA GANDHI (1869-1948). The Indian leader and main instigator of nonviolent independence from British rule — assassinated months after his dream had become reality — was nominated for the Nobel Prize on five occasions, but never won it.
ON OCTOBER 2 . . .
IN 1901, the first submarine commissioned by the Royal Navy, Holland 1, was launched in secret at Barrow-in-Furness. IN 1909, the first rugby match was played at Billy Williams’ Cabbage Patch — better known to rugby fans today as Twickenham. Harlequins beat Richmond by 14 to 10. IN 1968, Mrs Sheila Ann Thorns, from Birmingham, gave birth to Britain’s first sextuplets, two boys and four girls.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I used to go missing a lot . . . Miss Canada, Miss UK, Miss World. George Best (194 -2005)
JOKE OF THE DAY
TWO men sit in the changing room at the Olympics. One says to t he other: ‘Are you a pole vaulter?’ The other says: ‘No, I’m German, but how do you know my name is Walter?’