ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE
JANUARY 6, 1937 THIS week’s Bravery Medal (with bars) goes to a lion-tamer — for daring to say, almost on the eve of his marriage, that he thought women needed the same treatment as lions. It is not suggested that even after a lion-training course the average man could ever dominate a woman to the extent he could a lion. But he might be able to spill cigarette ash on the drawing-room carpet and get away with it.
JANUARY 9, 1967 WHEN some British drivers see the new road sign for ‘No Entry’ — a red circle with a white horizontal bar through it — they put their foot down, thinking it is the end of the speed limit. A social research survey published by Mass Observation reveals a frightening ignorance of road signs. The most frequent wrong answers were ‘a dual carriageway’ and a ‘one-way street’.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JOELY RICHARDSON, 52. The daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson originally wanted to be a gymnast and then a tennis player before deciding to enter the family trade. Asked if her talent was hereditary, she responded: ‘If that were the case, I think I would have been better earlier in my career, so, no.’ JIMMY PAGE, 73. The Led Zeppelin founder was listed as third greatest guitarist in history by Rolling Stone magazine (behind Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix). Page says a killer riff is ‘something you know instinctively. It has energy and attitude. There’s sex in it as well.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
RICHARD NIXON (1913-1994). The 37th U.S. President was the first to resign from office after his involvement in the Watergate scandal. After his downfall, he submitted to a series of interviews by David Frost — later a play and film, Frost/Nixon — who recalled that the former statesman ‘always insisted’ on small talk before any meeting. ‘He said to me on one occasion: “Did you do any fornicating this weekend?” He was trying to be one of the lads and got the word wrong.’
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR (1908-1986). The French feminist writer (pictured) was almost as well-known for her love affair with philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, which she called her ‘greatest achievement’. Her most famous work, The Second Sex, was banned by the Vatican because of its passages on lesbianism.
ON JANUARY 9...
IN 1816, Sir Humphry Davy’s safety lamp for miners to use without risking the heat from the flame causing an explosion of gas was first used in Hebburn Colliery, Tyne and Wear.
In 2006, The Phantom Of The Opera became the longest-running show on Broadway — passing the 7,485 performances of Cats.
WORD WIZARDRY
NEW WORD FROM THIS CENTURY Reem — attractive or excellent
CAN YOU GUESS THE CORRECT DEFINITION FOR
Japan (coined 1756)
A) To dye one’s moustache. B) To ordain a priest. C) A scarecrow made of old garments.
LION’S SHARE — in Aesop’s Fables, several beasts joined the lion in a hunt, and when the spoil was divided, the lion claimed one quarter for himself, the second quarter for his courage, the third for his dam and cubs — ‘and as for the fourth, let who will dispute it with me’. Awed by the lion’s frown, the other beasts yielded and silently withdrew.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
HUMAN blunders usually do more to shape history than human wickedness.
AJP Taylor, historian (1906-1990)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT did the dragon say when he met a knight in shining armour? I love tinned food. Guess The Definition answer: B