Trivia Of The Day October 21

At the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures on October 21, 1983, the length of a metre was redefined as the distance light travels in vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.

At one stage during the Hundred Years War, the King of France obtained a cease-fire to enable him to make a pilgrimage to see Saint Thomas Becket's tomb at Canterbury Cathedral.

The former spot of the shrine of Thomas Becket, By ABrocke

Cattle branding was practiced 4,000 years ago. Old tomb paintings show Egyptians branding their fat, spotted cattle around 2700 BC.

For more Trivia Of The Days click here

Happy Birthday October 21

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder and first emperor of China's Ming dynasty, was born on October 21, 1328. Zhu Yuanzhang rose to command the force that conquered China and ended the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, forcing the Mongols to retreat to the Central Asian steppes. Following his seizure of the Yuan capital, Khanbaliq (present-day Beijing), Zhu ascended the throne of China on January 22, 1368. This initiated the Ming Dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.

The English romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in the country town of Ottery St Mary, Devonshire, England on October 21, 1772. His father, the Reverend John Coleridge (1718–1781), was a well-respected vicar of the parish and headmaster of Henry VIII's Free Grammar School at Ottery. Coleridge wrote about 750 poems in total and is best remembered for The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan and his poetry volume collaboration with William Wordsworth, Lyrical Ballads.

Coleridge in 1795

Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel Prize, was born on October 21, 1833. Nobel was a Swedish chemist and millionaire, who invented dynamite and established almost 100 arms factories. The Nobel Prizes came about when a brother of Nobel died and a French newspaper mistakenly printed Alfred's obituary under the headline: "The merchant of death is dead." Desperate to leave a positive legacy, he decided to bequeath his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes "to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”. 

For more October 21st anniversaries, including the patenting of Portland cement, the first Japanese kamikaze attack and the publication of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, check out OnThatDay.

Today Is October 21

National Reptile Awareness Day is celebrated in the US each year on October 21. The day promotes education, conservation, and appreciation for reptiles. 

The name "reptile" comes from Latin and means "one who creeps". All living reptile species are cold blooded, have scaly skin, and can lay eggs on land.

Reptiles come in four varieties: turtles and tortoises; crocodilia (including alligators); lizards and snakes; New Zealand tuatara.

Wikipedia

Nearly all reptiles are incapable of running and breathing at the same time. This is one of the reasons why they are ambush predators. Komodo dragons can only dash 30 feet (10m) before having to rest for breathing.

Twenty-eight U.S. states have an official state reptile. Oklahoma was the first to name an official reptile, the collared lizard, in 1969.

On This Day October 21

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought on October 21, 1805 between the navies of France and Spain on one side, and Great Britain on the other near Cape Trafalgar in southwest Spain. At the battle, 27 British ships led by Admiral Nelson defeated 33 French and Spanish ships. The French and Spaniards lost 22 ships in the battle; all the British ships survived. Britain's victory allowed them to become the world's largest sea power for 100 years.

The Battle of Trafalgar J. M. W. Turner

WANT MORE THINGS THAT HAPPENED ON OCTOBER 21? CHECK OUT MY ONTHATDAY BLOG. HERE'S A LINK.

Trivia Of The Day October 20

Boomerangs were found in King Tutankhamen's tomb in excellent condition. Some of them were capped with gold.

The word tomato comes from the Aztec "tomatl", meaning "plump thing with a navel".

Pixibay

In 1892 there was a terrible famine in Russia and the author Leo Tolstoy set up 370 kitchens feeding 16,000 daily. He personally raised 141,000 roubles (including half a million dollars from the USA)..

For more Trivia Of The Days click here

Happy Birthday October 20

English mathematician-physicist and architect Christopher Wren was born on October 20, 1632 at East Knoyle in Wiltshire, England. His father, also Christopher Wren, was at that time the rector of East Knoyle. In 1635, Christopher Wren snr was appointed Dean of Windsor by Charles I and the family moved to Windsor. Young Christopher spent his early years at Windsor Castle where his father was Dean. He used to play there with the future Charles II.

Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller 1711

Mao Zedong's first wife, Luo Yixiu, was born on October 20, 1889. When Mao finished primary education at the age of 13 his father had him married to the 17-year-old Luo Yigu, uniting their land-owning families. Mao refused to recognize her as his wife, becoming a fierce critic of arranged marriage and temporarily moving away. Luo was locally disgraced and died in 1910.

English scientist Sir James Chadwick, CH, FRS was born on October 20, 1891. He was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the neutron three years earlier. Chadwick had originally intended studying mathematics, but he was interviewed by a physicist who assumed Chadwick wanted to study physics. He was too shy to contradict him, so ended up enrolling as a physics major.

For more October 20th anniversaries, including the settling of the Canada–United States border, the first daytime radio soap opera program and the marriage of Jackie Kennedy to Aristotle Onassis, check out On That Day.

Today is October 20

The president of the World Association of Chefs Societies Billy Gallagher created International Chefs Day in 2004, which is celebrated each year on October 20th. The day focuses on educating kids around the world about eating healthy and for chefs to pass on their knowledge and skills to the next generation.

Chefs in training at chef school in Oxford, England By © Jorge Royan

The word "chef" is derived (and shortened) from the term chef de cuisine, the director or head of a kitchen. 

England's King George II took such an interest in his food that he ordered every dish served to him to be labelled with the name of the chef who had made it.

Before ascending to the English throne as King George IV, the prince employed the most celebrated chef around, Marie-Antoine Carême. The sumptuous food cooked for him gave Prince George almost permanent indigestion and his gargantuan excesses exceeded any other royals.

The self-taught French chef Raymond Blanc came to Britain in his early 20s after being fired as a waiter at the Michelin-starred Le Palais de la Bière in Besançon. Blanc had upset the head chef by questioning his cooking and was hit by him with a frying pan.