A weekend to remember.

[mutley 4,498]

Further to my "On this day" about a month ago here are some more anniversaries..

Today:

1880 - Comic Genius Stan Laurel was born as Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston Lancashire. (That's another fine mess ...)

1948 - The Cathay Pacific Airways Catalina flying boat "Miss Macao" on a flight to Hong Kong was the first plane to be hijacked. She was hijacked a few minutes after take off by four men, carrying guns, one of who demanded that the pilot surrender the controls. The pilot refused and was shot. As the pilot collapsed onto the flight controls the plane went into an uncontrolled dive and crashed into the sea. 26 of the 27 people aboard died in the crash, the only survivor being the leader of the hijackers. (10 points for the tail number?)

1963 - The first woman cosmonaut Valentia Tereshkova blasted off in the Soviet spacecraft Vostok 6. (Phew glad I wasn't in there!)

Tomorow:

1579 - Sir Francis Drake anchored the Golden Hind just north of what would one day be San Francisco Bay. Naming the area New Albion. (Where now your cat has its own psychiatrist and the fastest part of your commute is down your driveway!)

1775 - The Battle of Bunker Hill, the second major clash of the war of independence just north of Boston. (Although the battle is known as "Bunker Hill", most of the fighting did not take place there, occurring on Breed's Hill nearby. General Israel Putnam was in charge of the revolutionary forces. Colonel William Prescott was second in charge. Prescott is known as the officer who said: "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!")

1867 - Joseph Lister performed an operation on his sister using carbolic acid as an an antiseptic, the first operation to do so. (Give me whiskey any day!)

1928 - Amelia Earhart began the flight that made her the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic Ocean. (10 points - and where did she land?)

Another notable date is Monday 18th June 1973, Britain's worst air crash kills 118 http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/date ... /2515787.s

Hope you enjoyed!

[mulletman 0]

VR-HDT

All very interesting that, thanks for saying. :wink: . Maybe we could see a debut winner if the Indianapolis GP tomorrow, if the BMW continues the way its going.

The BBC links dead though.

[mutley 4,498]

Correct with the reg, Fred :wink:

I take it you are referring to Vettel's debut in the GP? I reckon Hamilton will enjoy this one as much as the last and probably win again

http://www.planetf1.com/

Cheers

[ddavid 149]

Thanks for the question, Joe. The Rarotonga - Honolulu RTWC leg was just east of where Amelia finally disappeared, so I looked up her bio:

This from http://www.ellensplace.net/eae_intr.html

Somewhat off-course, she landed in an open field near Londonderry in northern Ireland. On climbing from her plane a man approached. She asked: "Where am I?"...the man replied "in Gallegher's pasture...have you come far?"..."from America", she replied.

So I guess it must be near here:

Still no ideas about GtA???

Cheers - Dai. :wink:

[mulletman 0]

I take it you are referring to Vettel's debut in the GP? I reckon Hamilton will enjoy this one as much as the last and probably win again :wink:

Yep, i am. Although heres a bit of trivia (surprisingly not mentioned by Hamiltons No1 fan James Allen). Only one other driver has won on his debut....Who was it? (race, year and car for bonus points). (excluding the very first F1 GP)

I was blown away by Hamilton's performance at Turkey in the GP2 and understand completely why he is where he is. I just wish everyone would focus on someone else for a while. Davidson was in 3rd in the Canadian GP, and if he has one stopped could have got a very high result. Nobody even mentioned it. (a bad pit stop messed it up, again, James Allen and Martin Brundle didnt mention it)

Still, Indianapolis has already been won by a brit this year. Dario Franchitti, who won the 500. And i think he (and Dan Wheldon) deserve more press mention than they get.

There is however a full interview on the Lewis Hamilton Show later, which i look forward to.