ON THIS DAY
IT’S DAY 333...
The largest living cat in the world is an adult male liger that’s 3.33m (10ft) long and 1.25m (4ft 1in) tall at the shoulder. hercules (right) — as he is aptly called — is a cross between a female tiger and a male lion and lives in a U.S. wildlife reserve in South Carolina. he weighs just shy of 66 st — more than twice as big as the average African lion. IT wAS so cold here 333 years ago, during the Mini Ice Age of the 17th century, that in the winter of 1683-84, not only did the Thames in London freeze solid for two months but the sea off southern Britain froze for up to two miles off shore. There is an average of 333 squares of toilet paper in each roll.
THERE ARE 33 DAYS LEFT
we goT ‘breakfast TV’ for the first time 33 years ago with the BBC’s Breakfast Time launching in January 1983 and ITV’s TV-am a few weeks later. Newspaper critics were less than generous. ‘There is no earthly reason why anyone of intelligence should want to watch it,’ said richard Ingrams, writing in The Spectator. BrITS shout ‘Say cheese!’ when taking a photo, but in Spain, the phrase is ‘Diga treinta y tres’ — which means ‘Say 33! we make about 400 friendships across our lifetime, but only 33 of these — one in 12 — will last, according to research carried out by Microsoft’s MSN Messenger website.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
KrISS AKABUSI, 58. The London-born olympic hurdler was sent to a children’s home when his parents returned to Nigeria when he was four. he served in the Army before becoming an athlete and says his fantasy is to have been born 20 years later ‘and competed in London 2012’. MANoLo BLAhNIK, 74. Famed for his elaborate high-end shoes, the Spanishborn designer has what he calls a ‘shoe mausoleum’ containing every shoe he has ever made — almost 12,000 in all — at his home in Bath. his pet peeve is platform shoes, of which he says: ‘They are suburban. I never do a platform.’ Berry gordy, 87. Music producer and songwriter, he founded Motown records in 1959 and was behind the careers of many stars, from Stevie wonder to Michael Jackson. The former boxer and car factory worker said: ‘I was a failure at everything I ever did until I was 29.’ he set up Motown — an abbreviation of Motor Town, detroit’s nickname — at his wood-framed house there, with a sign above the door that read ‘hitsville USA’.
BORN ON THIS DAY
wILLIAM BLAKe (1757-1827). The english poet and painter is perhaps most famous for the line from one of his poems ‘And did those feet in ancient time’, which formed the basis for the lyrics of Jerusalem, with music by hubert Parry. george V said he preferred Jerusalem to the national anthem god Save The King. NANCy MITFord (1904-1973). The novelist, biographer and expert on ‘upper-class english elegance’ was one of the famous six Mitford sisters. She was known for her witticisms, such as: ‘To fall in love, you have to be in the state of mind for it to take, like a disease.’
ON NOVEMBER 28 . . .
IN 1905, Sinn Fein — the organisation that would become the political arm of the IrA — was founded in dublin. IN 1990, a tearful Margaret Thatcher left downing Street for the last time as Prime Minister after more than 11 years in office.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
Sentimentality is the emotional promiscuity of those who have no sentiment.
Norman Mailer, novelist (1923-2007)
JOKE OF THE DAY
how does an angel answer the phone? Halo. Compiled by ETAN SMALLMAN