ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 106 of 2016
THE smallest biplane ever flown, Bumble Bee Two, was only 106 inches (just under 9ft) long when it was piloted by American Robert H. Starr in Arizona, in April 1988. Unfortunately it crashed on its first outing. THE average person spends 106 days of their life complaining about their work problems to family and friends. A total of 106 people were killed in the Sylvester Stallone film, Rambo III — it was named the most violent film by The Guinness Book of World Records in 1990.
THERE ARE 260 DAYS LEFT
PARIS was liberated by the Allied forces in the 260th week of World War Two. WAYNE Rooney reportedly earns £260,000 per week playing for Manchester United, a figure that would have paid the wage bill for everyone at the club for a whole year back in 1968, when they won the European Cup and had stars including George Best. WHEN two bombs went off close to the finish line of the Boston Marathon on this day in 2013, the blasts injured more than 260 people and killed three. JOHN Harvard, a clergyman, founded the Harvard University Library with a collection of 260 books in 1638. The library now has more than 15 million books.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
EMMA Watson, 26. The actress best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. Although she was born in Paris, she is not fluent in French and wants to learn — every year she makes it her new year’s resolution. EMMA Thompson, 57. The Oscar-winning actress and star of Nanny McPhee, which she also wrote the screenplay for. It must be in the blood — her father, the actor Eric Thompson, was the creator and narrator of the English adaptation of beloved children’s TV show The Magic Roundabout.
BORN ON THIS DAY
LEONARDO da Vinci (1452-1519). The Italian artist famous for his paintings of the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and Vitruvian Man. Among his many unbuilt inventions was the world’s first self-propelled cart. PERCY Shaw (1890-1976). The Halifax-born inventor became an ‘overnight millionaire’ after creating ‘cat’s eyes’ reflecting road studs. He got the idea when he nearly veered of the road on a dark night in Halifax in 1933 and was saved when he saw the reflection of his headlights in the eyes of a cat and realised he was off course. ELIZABETH Montgomery (1933-1995). Hollywood actress (right) best known for her role as ‘twitchy-nosed’ housewife and witch Samantha Stephens in the longrunning TV series Bewitched. Ten years after her death from cancer, a statue of her on a broomstick was erected in Salem, Massachusetts, the place of the famous witch trials, and is now one of the town’s biggest tourist attractions.
ON APRIL 15 . . .
IN 1793, the Bank of England printed its first £5 note. IN 1901, a motorised hearse was used at a funeral for the first time, for one of the employees of the Daimler factory in Coventry. IN 1942, as part of an austerity drive, the British government banned the sale of embroidered or lace underwear.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
I always work on the theory that the audience will believe you best if you believe yourself.
Film star Charlton Heston (1924-2008)
JOKE OF THE DAY
NEVER take the shell off a racing snail. It makes them sluggish.