View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
What : day is it
August 13th is known as Filet Mignon Day, Prosecco Day & Left-Handers Day.
1910 – The death of Florence Nightingale, English nurse who came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ after her habit of making rounds at night.
1913 – The first production in the UK of stainless steel by Sheffield born Harry Brearley. Brearley’s life had humble beginnings. He was the son of a steel melter and left school at the age of twelve to enter his first employment as a labourer in one of the city’s steelworks.
1964 – The last hangings in Britain took place when two men, Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen, were hanged for the murder of John Alan West, a laundry van driver from Seaton, Cumbria. Evans was hanged at Manchester’s Strangeways Prison at 8:00 a.m. and at exactly the same time, Peter Allen was hanged at Liverpool’s Walton Prison.
1976 – The first observation, by Dean R. Campbell, of the day marked as ‘International Left Handers Day’ which has been celebrated every year since. Around 10 per cent of the world’s population is left-handed, including the webmaster of this website, scientist Sir Isaac Newton, former prime minister David Cameron, the wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and also Prince William, the future king. Left-handed people have been considered unlucky and even evil – the word “sinister” comes from the Latin word for left. In Britain in the Middle Ages, “lefties” were associated with the devil and often accused of the crime of witchcraft, meaning they would get burned at the stake.
1977 – Members of the National Front (a far right, racial nationalist, political party) clashed with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.
1991 – The Prince of Wales resigned as the patron of Scotland’s National Museum over a competition to design a new building.
1991 – Britain introduced the Dangerous Dog Act in which aggressive dogs must be muzzled and held on a leash in public.
1995 – Alison Hargreaves, British mountaineer, and the first woman to make a solo summit of Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen, died descending K2 during a severe storm.
1997 – Following worldwide press speculation, Diana, Princess of Wales issued a statement insisting she had no plans to marry Dodi Al Fayed.
2001 – A Government announcement paved the way for more speed cameras, that would also be harder to evade.
2012 – If Yorkshire was regarded as an independent country, it was calculated that it would have finished 12th out of the 204 competing countries in the medals table at the Olympics! The county won seven gold medals, two silver and three bronze.
Did you know that on this day in 1985, a three-year-old from Dublin became the world’s youngest heart & lung transplant patient? Britain’s leading transplant specialist, Magdi Yacoub, performed the operation.
At a movie theatre which armrest is yours?
It Would Cost Thousands of Dollars to Take a Cab From West Philadelphia to Bel Air.
So, are quesadillas the Mexican version of pizza, or is pizza the Italian version of a quesadilla?
It is kinda sad when a movie is setting up for a sequel we all know it won’t get.
I wonder how many item features I don’t know about because I have never read an instruction manual for anything.
“Explain this to me again. I didn’t know somebody could shoot themself with their own arrow.” #moviequotes
I lived a long chunk of my life thinking “Froot Loops” were spelled “Fruit Loops.”
No word in the English language rhymes with plankton.
Safety pins are just as dangerous as normal pins.
Peter Lorre – Real Name: Laszlo Loewenstein
Searching for Bigfoot should be outlawed because at this point it’s clear he values his privacy and that should be respected.
“Every day that you don’t practice is one day longer before you achieve greatness” – Ben Hogan
“I believe that the influence of woman will save the country before every other power.” – Lucy Stone
“You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic.” – Sebastian Stan
“Being a child star is great. It’s being a former child star that sucks.” – Danny Bonaduce
“Aim for the high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time, not the second time and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect. Finally, you’ll hit the bulls-eye of success.” – Annie Oakley
“I ain’t afraid to love a man. I ain’t afraid to shoot him either.” – Annie Oakley
2018 – Xi’an, China, introduced a pedestrian lane for people who walk while looking at their phones.
1993 – The Holbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, fell into the sea following a landslide, making news around the world.
1805 – The first Trooping of the Colour took place on Horse Guards Parade. It was Edward VII who moved Trooping the Colour to its June date, because of the vagaries of British weather.