Interesting Facts

31st August 1997– Princess Diana, Al Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul, die in a high-speed car crash in a Paris tunnel. 1980 - Poland's Solidarity movement (Solidarnosc), was officially recognised. It is credited with playing a key role in the collapse of communism.

5th May 1215 – Rebel barons in England renounced their allegiance to King John — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. 1494 – Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Jamaica and claimed it for Spain. I think I'll try that next time I'm in Spain. 1821 – Emperor Napoleon I died in exile on the island of Saint Helena. 1921 - Coco Chanel introduced their famous perfume Chanel No. 5. 1925 – John T. Scopes was served with an arrest warrant for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act. 1949 – The Treaty of London established the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. 1955 – West Germany regained full sovereignty. 1964 – The Council of Europe declared May 5 as Europe Day. 1980 - The siege of the Iranian embassy in London came to an end after a raid by SAS commandos. 1981 - Bobby Sands died in the Maze prison 66 days after first refusing to eat. 2005 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair was elected to a third term.

18th April 1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica was laid. 1909 – Joan of Arc was beatified in Rome. 1783 – Fighting ceased in the American Revolution, eight years since it began. 1924 – Simon & Schuster published the first crossword puzzle book. 1945 – Over 1,000 allied bombers attacked the small island of Heligoland, Germany. 1955 - Albert Einstein died. 1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) came into being. Canaan Banana was the country's first President. 1983 – A suicide bomber destroyed the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people. 1996 – At least 106 civilians were killed when the Israel Defense Forces shelled the UN compound at Quana, Lebanon, where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.

According to research presented at the Sociolinguistics Symposium, children start swearing at a much earlier age than they did a few decades ago. (Seemingly in the UK kids start swearing at the age of 4! In the 1980s most children didn't start to swear until they were 13.  (I don't think I swore until I was about 21). They also swear more often nowadays, and they have lots of choice: T here are over 70 different common swear words in the English language (some of which also vary from English-speaking country to country), 10 frequently used words account for over 80 percent of common swearing.   Of course I am far too polite to tell you what they are, but they include the "F" word, and sh1t (which isn't even a swear word in Germany). You can learn more here. )

8th December 1980 - Former Beatle John Lennon was shot to death outside his apartment building in New York City. He was 40.

According to a survey commissioned by Nationwide Credit Cards, the 1970s was the most tasteless decade when it comes to home decor in the UK. #TBT to when avocado bathrooms were in. Seriously, who thought that was a good look?! pic.twitter.com/liz1dJVtK8 — WICKES (@Wickes) January 29, 2015 (Lava lamps, orange and purple decor, tartan upholstery, shagpile rugs, avocado bathrooms and woodchip wallpaper all contributed to make the 70s so unstylish, but the 1980s, with its textured ceilings, frills and flounces, and Laura Ashley prints came second at 16 per cent. I wonder what they will say about the 2010s?)

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, on average British mums spend 3 hours a day on housework and cooking, whereas fathers spend an average of three quarters of an hour. (In 8 out of 10 couples, women do all the washing and ironing, but things are changing, a magazine survey in 1999 revealed that among the over-60s age group, none of the men surveyed ever did the washing! Of course in 1980 only 31% of women had a full-time or part-time job compared to 55% today. According to therapist Julia Cole, most men still expect women to do the housework, and if men do it, they act as though they are doing their partner a favour; saying things like: 'I've done the washing up for you' instead of regarding it as something which benefits both of them.)

A.K. Verma, an Indian civil servant, joined the state-run Central Public Works Department (CPWD) as an assistant executive engineer in 1980:  A public sector job in India is usually seen as a job for life. (Why does that make him interesting? Well, 10 years later, he went on leave, and never went back to work. People leave work all the time, so it's still not that interesting, but he managed to bunk off work for 24 years, his job was only terminated in 2015. Unfortunately for him, his pay was stopped in the 1990s. I wonder what he is doing now.)

The votes are in and Britain's favourite BBC children's character of all time is Shaun the Sheep. (Postman Pat came second and Sooty and Sweep third. The past winners were:- 1950s - Sooty and Sweep. 1960s - The Magic Roundabout 1970s - Paddington Bear (still my favourite, along with Winnie the Pooh) 1980s - Postman Pat (not forgetting his cat) 1990s - Bob the Builder (but he couldn't fix this vote) )

Art Garfunkel is a long distance walker. (Seemingly the famous singer of Simon and Garfunkel fame has undertaken several long walks in his lifetime: In the early 1980s, he walked across Japan in a matter of weeks. From 1984 to 1996, Garfunkel walked across America, taking 40 excursions to complete the route from New York City to the Pacific coast of Washington. In May 1998, Garfunkel began an incremented walk across Europe. In late August 2012, during the 26th leg of his Eurowalk, Art reached Thessaloniki, Greece. He will be continuing his walk towards Istanbul.)