The 1st of October might mean nothing to some people, but unbeknownst to most, it was actually a pretty momentous day for a variety reasons. Below is just a handful of things you definitely don't need to know, but might find interesting enough to share at the watercooler in work today:
1843 – The News of the World tabloid began publication in London. It became one of the most widely circulated papers in the world with more that 2.6 million issues in circulation weekly by 2010. However it printed its final edition on 10th of July 2011 following revelations of the ongoing phone hacking scandal.
1949 – The People's Republic of China is established. Celebrated annually by Chinese people all over the globe. Today however, the events have been put on hold in Hong Kong as HK natives and residents protest in support of Hong Kong's democracy.
1969 – Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time. It is the fastest commercial passenger jet ever to have taken to the skies, flying between London Heathrow and Paris CDG to New York JFK, Washington Dulles and Barbados. It completed the routes in less than half the time of a standard passenger plane but huge development costs meant the airliner proved to be substantially uneconomical. It was retired in 2003. (pic via wikipedia)
1958 – NASA is created to replace NACA. 'That's one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind'.
1989 – Denmark introduces the world's first legal modern same-sex civil union called "registered partnership". Same sex marriage is now legal in Denmark, as well as the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Brazil, Canada, Sweden and many more countries and states worldwide. Civil partnerships are legal in Ireland, but not civil marriage. (pic via instagram)
1982 – The beloved CD player! Sony launched the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101) on October 1st in 1982. We can only imagine that the sound quality was superb! (pic via gopixpic.com)
1992 – Cartoon Network begins broadcasting. Johnny Quest, Yogi Bear and plenty of Tom and Jerry. For this, the parents of 90's kids everywhere were terribly grateful.
Today is also Julie Andrews 79th birthday. Zach Galifianakis is 45, and Boyzone star, actor, all round good guy and friend of Today FM, Keith Duffy is 40!
Happy Birthday Keith!
* * *
Shia LaBeouf could be starring in a new Martin Scorsese movie even though he has been described as 'nuts'. Get the details here.
