As Monday dawns once again, the Spark! is here to illuminate, inform and entertain. If you like it, spice it up. If you don’t, let me know and I’ll try and improve next time. Never too old for constructive criticism.
Today in History: 16th May 1943 Operation Chastise and the end of the Warsaw uprising
This day in 1943 saw two major events that took thousands of lives. Operation Chastise is more popularly known as the Dambusters raid and was undertaken by the famous 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
The raid utilised modified Avro Lancaster bombers to drop the Barnes Wallis designed bouncing bomb on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams. The objective was to try and neutralise Germany’s heavy industry in the Ruhr valley. Two of the three dams were breached and the resulting floods killed many, including a large number of Russian slave workers. Of the133 aircrew that took part, 53 were killed.
On the same day, General Jurgen Stroop of the SS ordered the burning of the Warsaw Ghetto to bring the month long uprising to an end. The Jewish inhabitants of the Ghetto rose up in order to prevent the deportations of their population to the Holocaust death camps.
As a result of the uprising, 13,000 Jews were killed, more than half burned alive or suffocated. The SS lost 300 troops.
Both incidents saw many deaths and unprecedented acts of bravery in the fight against a brutal regime.
Read more Battle of Chancellorsville | Location, Date, Summary, & Facts | Britannica here and here .
Also on this day
1568 – Mary Queen of Scots flees to England
1888 – Nikola Tesla describes the equipment required to transmit AC power over long distance
1929 – The first Academy Awards ceremony takes place
1951 – First regular transatlantic flights between New York and London established by El Al.
2011 – STS-134 the 25th and final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour
Arrivals
1905 – Henry Fonda, US actor (Young Mr. Lincoln, On Golden Pond)
1946 – Robert Fripp, British guitarist and producer (King Crimson)
1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
1955 – Hazel O’Connor, Irish singer
1966 – Janet Jackson, US singer
Departures
1667 – Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, patron of William Shakespeare
1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian jazz guitarist
1957 – Elliott Ness, US federal agent (inspiration for The Untouchables)
1990 – Jim Henson, US puppeteer (Sesame Street, The Muppets)
2010 – Ronnie James Dio, US Singer (Rainbow, Dio)
The Funnies:
Recipe of the day: Bacon & White Bean Stew
Another BBC Food recipe containing bacon. Just because…
Ingredients
· 2 tbsp olive oil
· 2 medium onions , thinly sliced
· 8–12 rashers smoked streaky bacon (about 180g/6oz), cut into 2cm/¾in pieces
· 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
· 2 x 400g tins cannellini beans , drained and rinsed
· 1 chicken stock cube
· 100g/3½oz young spinach leaves, roughly 4 large handfuls (or 1 small savoy cabbage , trimmed and shredded)
· salt and black pepper
Method
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Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onion for about 3 minutes or until starting to soften and colour, stirring regularly. Add the bacon and continue to fry for 2 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Scatter over the garlic and fry for 1 minute, stirring regularly.
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Add the cannellini beans, season with salt and pepper and fry for 2 minutes, stirring.
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Crumble over the stock cube and stir in 600ml/20fl oz water. Bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (if using cabbage instead of spinach, add it at this point).
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Add the spinach and cook for 1–2 minutes or until well wilted, stirring. Season with pepper and serve.
Quote of the Day:
*“*Always remember that the crowd that applauds your coronation is the same crowd that will applaud your beheading. People like a show.”
– Sir Terry Pratchett
Comic of the Day:
Mouseover: ‘A medicine that makes you put two dots over your letters more often is a diäretic.’
Image Credit: https://xkcd.com/2619/
Explain XKCD: explain xkcd
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
Read @repairatrooper ’s high-flying Spark! from Friday here :
( Spark! Pro Series - May 13th, 2022 )
