February 4th "2024" daily prep

Welcome to day 35, known as Homemade Soup Day, Stuffed Mushroom Day, Thank A Mailman Day, World Cancer Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of May 14th. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
2013 – A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park in August 2012 was confirmed as that of King Richard III. He was the last king of the House of York and died in 1485.
Todays birthdays
1948 – Alice Cooper (76), American rock singer (“Poison”, “School’s Out”), born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
1950 – Michael “Woody” Woodmansey (74), British drummer (David Bowie, 1970-73; The Spiders from Mars), born in Driffield.
1972 – Dara Ó Briain (52), Irish comedian and television presenter (Mock the Week, Go 8 Bit), born in Bray, Ireland.
1975 – Natalie Imbruglia (49), Australian-British singer (“Torn”) and actress (Neighbours, Johnny English), born in Sydney, Australia.
1982 – Kimberly Wyatt (42), American singer and former dancer with The Pussycat Dolls (“Don’t Cha”, “Buttons”), born in Warrensburg, Missouri, United States.
The day today
1920 – Norman Wisdom, actor & star of many comedy films, was born. In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and also Tirana in Albania where the population were devoted to him and referred to him as ‘Pitkin’. He received an OBE in the same year and was knighted in 2000. He retired from acting at the age of 90 after his health deteriorated and died in October 2010.
1968 – The world’s largest hovercraft, weighing 165 tonnes, was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The Hovertravel service from the mainland to the Isle of Wight is the world’s longest running commercial hovercraft service and is now the only scheduled passenger hovercraft service in Europe.
2000 – The very first Sims game was released for PC in North America. How could anyone possibly forget their time playing the original Sims game? This unique life simulator allowed players to control the lives, relationships, careers, and homes of the game’s characters, or “sims.”
2013 – A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park in August 2012 was confirmed as that of English king Richard III. He was reinterred at Leicester Cathedral on 26th March 2015 after experts from the University of Leicester said that DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch’s family.
2015 – An online fund, launched by Katie Cutler after the mugging of a Tyneside pensioner, was halted with donations totally £330,000. Her ‘Help Alan Barnes’ online donation page was launched after the frail and visually disabled 67-year-old had been attacked outside his Gateshead home. Richard Gatiss (25) was later arrested and given a four-year prison sentence for assault.
Today in music
1977 – Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. The songs ‘Go Your Own Way’, ‘Don’t Stop’, ‘Dreams’, and ‘You Make Loving Fun’ were released as singles. Rumours is Fleetwood Mac’s most successful release; along with winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1978, the record has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
1978 – ‘Up Town Ranking’ by Althia and Donna was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. It was the Jamaican duo’s only hit, making the teenagers One Hit Wonders.
1995 – Celine Dion started a seven-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Think Twice’. The song peaked at No.95 on the US chart. ‘Think Twice’ received an Ivor Novello Award for the Song of the Year in 1995.
2017 – Black Sabbath the band credited with inventing heavy metal music, played their last concert. The two-hour gig at the NEC Arena in their home city of Birmingham saw the rock veterans play 15 songs ending with their first hit, ‘Paranoid’. Ticker tape and balloons fell as singer Ozzy Osbourne, thanked fans for nearly five decades of support. Sabbath’s The End Tour began in the US in January last year and took in 81 dates across the world.
2021 – Sir Elton John said he had “very positive” talks with British Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden about EU travel for UK musicians, but said visa-free touring was not currently “on the cards”. John was one of many stars that had signed a letter demanding action to cut red tape and fees for musicians after Brexit saying that the matter was “swept under the carpet” before the UK left the EU.
Today in history
211 AD – The death in York, (formerly know as Eboracum), of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus whilst preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians. He left the empire in the control of his two quarrelling sons.
1555 – John Rogers is burned at the stake, becoming the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I of England.
1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master’s death.
1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest known copies of the bible was discovered in Egypt.
1932 – The Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, New York. It was officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games.
Fact of the day
Wisdom teeth have no purpose. Wisdom teeth are vestigial third molars that have helped in grinding plant tissue. It was believed that the jaws of human ancestors had larger jaws with more teeth. Often wisdom teeth are removed to prevent complicated problems that could occur if it continues to grow inside the mouth.