On This Day
11th February 1990 - Leading anti-apartheid campaigner, Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years incarceration.
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On This Day
15th August 1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, opened in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1914 – The Panama Canal opened to traffic. 1945 - Allied nations celebrated VJ Day marking the end of World War II. 1947 – India gained Independence from British rule after almost 190 years. 1952 – A flash flood in the town of Lynmouth, England, killed 34 people. 1963 – The last man was hanged in Scotland. 1971 – Bahrain gained independence from the United Kingdom. 1971 - horse rider Harvey Smith was stripped of £2,000 winnings and a major show jumping title for allegedly making a rude gesture, although he swore it was a V for victory sign. 1998 – 27 people were killed following a massive car bomb in the town of Omagh in Northern Ireland.
Interesting Fact - Housework
According to a survey conducted by money saving website VoucherCodesPro, the average British man doesn't learn to cook until he's 27, and is 22 before he figures out how to make the bed. (It doesn't stop at cooking either; over 50% said they had not bothered learning as they did not need to know how to do the housework, and 39% said they had someone to do it for them. It looks as if men are turning into Tamagotchis.)
Interesting Fact - Pocket Money
According to the Halifax bank, over the last 27 years pocket money in the UK has outstripped wages with payouts to children up 462%. (Children have seen a rise from on average £1.13 a week to £6.35, but over the same period, the typical annual wage for working adults has increased by just 188%, from £11,648 in 1987 to £33,511 in 2014. I think the difference is that children aren't afraid to ask for a rise. After all, no one is going to sack them because they cost too much, are they?) Of course parents paying out pocket money might want to click here (sorry kids).
Interesting Food - Meat
According to the Vegetarian Calculator page on Facebook the average human, who lives to 80, will have eaten 7,000 animals in their lifetime. (They will have eaten 11 cows, 27 pigs, an amazing 2,400 chickens, 4,500 fish, 80 turkeys, 30 sheep, and if rabbits, ducks, geese, goats, prawns and squid are included, the total of animals eaten rises to around 7,500. It reminds me of a joke: Q: What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup? A: Anyone can roast beef. Sorry.)
Interesting Fact - Communication
According to a report by Ofcom, half of all UK teenagers own smartphones. (Yes, the Communications Market 2011 report from Ofcom shows that that smartphone ownership is still on the rise and that teenagers are obsessed with their phones. The report findings show that teenagers are much more likely to own a smartphone than adults and are more obsessed with them. 48 per cent of teenagers own a smartphone compared to just 27 per cent of adults. 60% of teenagers who owned a smartphone described themselves as “highly addicted” to their handsets. Only 37 per cent of adults felt that way. I'm really glad I'm not a teenager any more.)
Interesting Fact - Capitalism
According to a poll by the BBC World Service, only 11% of people from 27 countries thought free market capitalism is working well. (In the United States (25%) and Pakistan (21%) of people agreed that capitalism works well in its current form. Luckily 51% of the people surveyed believed the problems can be solved with more regulation and reform, so there's hope for us yet.)