February 1st "2024" daily prep

Welcome to day 32, known as Car Insurance Day, Change Your Password Day, Dark Chocolate Day, Freedom Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of May 11th. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
1979 – Trevor Francis, aged 24, became the first £1m footballer in England, signing for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
Todays birthdays
1964 – Linus Roache (60), British actor (son of William Roache) known for his role as Ecbert, King of Wessex in Vikings and ADA Michael Cutter in Law & Order, born in Manchester.
1968 – Pauly Shore (56), American actor (Bio-Dome, California Man) and comedian, born in Los Angeles, California, United States.
1982 – Gavin Henson (42), Welsh former professional rugby union player (Swansea RFC, London Welsh, Bath, Bristol and the Dragons), born in Pencoed, Bridgend, Wales.
1987 – Ronda Rousey (37), American professional wrestler (WWE), mixed martial artist (UFC) and actress (Furious 7, Mile 22), born in Riverside, California, United States.
1994 – Harry Styles (30), English singer (One Direction – “What Makes You Beautiful”, “Story of My Life”), born in Redditch, Worcestershire.
The day today
1939 – A British White Paper proposing the formation of the Home Guard (which became better known as Dad’s Army because of the average age of the volunteers) was published. The hugely popular TV series of Dad’s Army was first aired on 31st July 1968 and ran for 9 series until 13th November 1977. The 2016 Dad’s Army film had its premiere on 26th January 2016. Principal filming took place on the beach at North Landing (Flamborough Head) and at nearby Bridlington.
1952 – The first TV detector van was demonstrated. It enabled the BBC to track down users of unlicensed television sets in Britain.
1965 – Prescriptions on the NHS became free of charge and remained so until June 1968.
1974 – Escaped Great Train Robber Ronald Biggs was arrested by Brazilian police in Rio. He escaped extradition because he was the father of a child by his Brazilian girlfriend.
2005 – Arsenal’s English Premier League record 33-game unbeaten streak at home ends when the Gunners go down, 4-2 to Manchester United at Highbury.
Today in music
1992 – George Michael and Elton John went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’. All proceeds from the single went to Aids charities.
1995 – Richey Edwards guitarist with the Manic Street Preachers vanished leaving no clues to his whereabouts. He left The Embassy Hotel in London at 7am, leaving behind his packed suitcase. His car was found on the Severn Bridge outside Bristol, England sixteen days later. Edwards has never been found, despite constant searching, and in November 2008 he was declared officially dead.
2008 – US space agency Nasa announced that ‘Across the Universe’ by The Beatles was to become the first song ever to be beamed directly into space. The track would be transmitted through the Deep Space Network – a network of antennas – on the 40th anniversary of the song being recorded, being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. In a message to NASA, Paul McCartney said the project was an “amazing” feat.”Well done, Nasa,” he added. “Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul.”
2009 – Bruce Springsteen started a two week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Working on a Dream’ his 16th studio album.
2013 – Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’ topped a list by BBC Radio 6 Music’s top 100 tracks of the past 10 years. More than 100,000 votes were cast in the poll which looked back over the 10 years since the station began in 2002. Arctic Monkeys’ ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ was voted into second place, and Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ in third.
Today in history
1327 – Fourteen year old Edward III was crowned King of England, but the country was ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
1587 – Under pressure from her Council, Queen Elizabeth I of England signed the warrant authorising the execution of Mary Queen of Scots.
1709 – Scotsman Alexander Selkirk was rescued from an uninhabited desert island (Mas à Tierra, off the coast of Chile), inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Defoe lived in Gateshead for 4 years and it is thought that he lived at Hillgate around 1710 with a bookseller named Joseph Button.
1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. James Murray was its most famous editor but he had only reached the letter T after working 44 hours per week for 35 years, so hundreds of people sent in their own contributions.
1910 – The first 80 Labour Exchanges opened in Britain to try and find jobs for the unemployed.
Fact of the day
The largest lymphatic organ in the body is the spleen. This is located on your left side under the ribs. This organ contains white blood cells that fight against infections or diseases.