This Month in History 25 years ago, Australia’s worst massacre in modern history occurred when 35 were killed in Port Arthur, Tasmania. 50 years ago, the USSR’s Salyut 1 was launched, becoming the first ever manned space station. 75 years ago, the League of Nations met for the last time, and was formally dissolved. 100 years ago, Vladimir Lenin announced the USSR’s New Economic Policy.
Older or Younger? Are the following explorers older or younger than Christopher Columbus? Leif Erikson Ferdinand Magellan Yuri Gagarin Sir Francis Drake Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Ranulph Fiennes Marco Polo James Cook
Answers to previous 'Older or Younger': Queen Elizabeth II LEDs - younger Chocolate Chip Cookies - younger LASERs - younger Etch-a-sketches - younger Frisbees - younger Colour TV - younger Ford Mustangs - younger Slinkys – younger Dinosaurs - older Dark matter - older
Interestingly… Igor Stravinsky was born before Brahms had completed two of his four symphonies and died after the Beatles had split up! During WWI, Romanian officers above the rank of major were authorized to wear eye shadow into battle. Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective, uses fingerprint evidence in The Sign of Four - eleven years before the police began using them in real life in 1901. In the 17th century, Cockneys were also known as 'eaters of buttered toast.' In 1911 nuclear physicist George de Hevesy suspected that his landlady was bulking up his meals with leftovers. He proved it by sprinkling radioactive material over his supper and detecting it in another meal a few days later. In 1328, London’s Guild of Pepperers was registered as ‘grossarii’, i.e. those who sell in bulk, or ‘in gross’. This word would later become ‘grocers’, which means that originally grocers sold pepper. An 'article' is a 'regulation wooden seat in a Toys.'
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