November 2nd "2023" daily prep

Welcome to day 306 of the year! Known as Dynamic Harmlessness Day as well as Deviled Egg Day. If you were born on this day, you were likely conceived the week of February 9th 2023. Your star sign is “Scorpio” and your birthstone is Topaz.
2012 – It was announced that more than 100 post boxes, painted gold to celebrate the success of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, would remain gold on a permanent basis.
Todays birthdays
1961 – k.d. lang (62), Canadian singer (“Constant Craving”), born in Edmonton, Canada.
1966 – David Schwimmer (57), American actor, director and producer best known for his role as Ross Gellar in Friends, born in New York, New York, United States.
1972 – Samantha Janus [Womack] (51), English actress (Up ‘n’ Under, Kingsman: Secret Service) and model known for her role as Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, born in Brighton.
1974 – Nelly (49), American rapper (Hot In Herre; Dilemma – Ft Kelly Rowland), born in Austin, Texas, United States.
1977 – Leon Taylor (46), former British competitive diver (Silver medal Athens Olympics), born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The day today
1936 – The world’s first regular TV service was started by the British Broadcasting Corporation at Alexandra Palace at 3:00 p.m. It was defined as ‘high-definition’ (with 200 lines of resolution) and was renamed BBC1 in 1964. An estimated 100 TV owners tuned in.
1953 – The foundation of the Samaritans, (the world’s first crisis hotline organisation), by the Anglican priest Chad Varah, who was born in Barton-upon-Humber, Lincolnshire.
1960 – Penguin publishers were cleared of obscenity for printing the D.H. Lawrence novel ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. The first edition was printed privately in Florence in 1928 but the unexpurgated edition could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960. The book was notorious at the time for its story of the physical relationship between a working-class man and an upper-class woman, with explicit descriptions of sex, and its use of then-unprintable words.
1982 – The first edition of ‘Countdown’ the British TV game show involving word and number puzzles. It was hosted by Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman and was also the first programme to be aired on Channel 4.
2012 – It was announced that more than 100 post boxes, painted gold to celebrate the success of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes, would remain gold on a permanent basis.
Today in music
1963 – Gerry & the Pacemakers reached the number one spot with ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
1969 – Sugar Sugar by The Archies was at No.1 on the UK singles chart. The single became the longest running One Hit Wonder in the UK with eight week’s at the top of the charts.
2002 – Armed police arrested an international gang who were planning to kidnap former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and her two young children. The gang had planned to ransom Victoria for £5m.
2008 – X-Factor Finalists started a three week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Hero’, to raise money for Help for Heroes ‘ a charity that provides support for wounded servicemen and women, and the Poppy Appeal. The song was a Top 10 hit for Mariah Carey in 1993.
2016 – Taylor Swift was the highest-paid woman in music, according to Forbes’ annual list, having earned more than double her nearest competitor Adele. The 26-year-old pop star had amassed earnings of $170m (£137.8m) over the past year, mainly thanks to a world tour named after her recent 1989 album.
Today in history
1470 – The birth of King Edward V of England, one of the two ‘princes in the Tower’. Along with his younger brother Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, Edward ‘disappeared’ after being sent (allegedly for safety reasons) to the Tower of London. Responsibility for their deaths is widely attributed to his uncle, Richard III, but the actual events have remained controversial for centuries.
1636 – The birth of Edward Colston, Bristol-born merchant and Member of Parliament. Much of his wealth, although used often for philanthropic purposes, was acquired through the trade and exploitation of slaves. He endowed schools and almshouses and his name is commemorated in several Bristol landmarks, two schools and the Colston bun (a yeast dough flavoured with dried fruit and spices).
1871 – British police began their Rogues’ Gallery, taking photographs of all convicted prisoners.
1896 – The first motor insurance policies were issued in Britain, but they excluded damage caused by frightened horses.
1924 – Almost 11 years after its appearance in America, the first crossword puzzle was published in a British newspaper, sold to the Sunday Express by C.W. Shepherd.
Fact of the day
When Neptune and Earth line up on the same side of the sun, at their closest, they are only 2.7 billion miles (4.3 billon kilometers) apart. But when the planets are on opposite sides of the sun, they can put as many as 2.9 billion miles (4.7 billion km) between them.
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