View todays celebrity birthdays and find out what happened in history today.
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1975 – Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and his wife were both badly injured when the hire car he was driving spun off the road and crashed on the Greek island of Rhodes. He had to record the vocals for the band’s Presence album from a wheelchair or on crutches.
1984 – Carl Lewis wins the 100m in 9.9 seconds at the Los Angeles Olympics. On the same day, the Republic of Upper Volta becomes Burkina Faso.
1995 – The Croatian army attacks territory under the Republic of Serbian Krajina in the largest land battle since WWII.
1996 – The Olympic Games close in Atlanta.
2000 – Celebrations take place across the UK to mark the 100th birthday of the Queen Mother.
2002 – Cambridgeshire schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman go missing from a family barbecue at Holly’s house in Soham.
2009 – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il meets with former US President Bill Clinton and releases captured American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling who had been found guilty of entering the country illegally.
2011 – Mark Duggan, 29, is shot by police in Tottenham, sparking widespread riots that cost an estimated £200 million worth of property damage.
2012 – South African Oscar Pistorius becomes first double-leg amputee to compete at the Olympics in the 400m. He goes out in the semis. On the same day, Serena Williams wins Olympic gold in London, beating Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 in the ladies singles. Also, actress Natalie Portman marries ballet dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied in California.
2013 – Hassan Rouhani is inaugurated as the President of Iran.
2015 – A plague of locusts in Southern Russia prompts a state of emergency to be declared.
2017 – Aldi supermarket withdraws all eggs from sale after the chemical fipronil is found in eggs from The Netherlands.
2018 – President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela survives an assassination attempt by drone, live on TV.
2019 – Frank Zapata becomes the first person to cross the English Channel by flyboard in 22 minutes. (average speed 60mph).
Did you know that on this day in 2011, a highway in Alberta was closed due to some escaped bees? A truck carrying 104 beehives had overturned, and the contents spilled onto both lanes.
The Epic of Gilgamesh was indeed the first Bromance narrative.
If people really slept like a baby, then they would wake up every 2 hours crying. #babysleep
If every apple picked in Washington in a single year was placed side-by-side, they would circle the earth 29 times.
Randolph Scott – Real Name: Randolph Crane
A group of planted Flowers is called a Bed.
Would a lightsaber continuously hum if you held it out the window of a sports car at top speed?
99% of all hazelnuts in the U.S. are grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley
If I was transported back in time, I don’t think I’d remember enough critical information to make me wealthy or successful.
A 41-gun salute is a traditional salute to a royal birth in Great Britain.
It is impossible to look cool while your shoes are squeaking on the floor.
A group of Fish is called a Draft or Nest or Shoal or School. A group of caught Fish is called a Catch or Drought or Haul.
“What an excellent day for an exorcism.” – Pazuzu in The Exorcist #moviequotes
“I don’t think a tough question is disrespectful.” – Helen Thomas
“I think anything is possible if you have the mindset and the will and desire to do it and put the time in.” – Roger Clemens
“Either you focus, or you hit something really hard.” – Jeff Gordon
“When my cats aren’t happy, I’m not happy. Not because I care about their mood but because I know they’re just sitting there thinking up ways to get even.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’” – Percy Bysshe Shelley
“Getting the nomination is like gravy. Winning would be like whatever is better than gravy.” – Billy Bob Thornton
“We are reminded that, in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.” – Barack Obama
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.
2012 – The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant took place on the Tideway of the River Thames, as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.