Once more the sand in the hourglass has slipped inexorably into the future and we find ourselves saddled with another Monday. Let the Spark! usher you into the new week with a warm glow and the odd, interesting fact nestled between your ear lobes.
On This Day – 21st – The need for speed…..
Today is a big day in the world of land speed records. On this day in 1904, Frenchman Louis Rigolly became the first person to travel faster 100mph (161km/h) in Ostend, Belgium. The car was a French built Gobron-Brillie with a massive 15 litre engine!
A mere 21 years later, on 21st July 1925, Malcom Campbell becomes the first person to exceed the 150mph barrier in a Sunbeam 350HP. This car was powered by one of Sunbeam’s aero engines and had a whopping 18.8 litre capacity. The car, currently homed at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, has this last weekend returned to Pendine Sands in Wales, where the record was set.
How technology has improved. We now have small vehicles that can hit the magic ton with engines of 1 litre or less whilst at the other end of the scale, the Thrust SSC jet powered car has achieved supersonic speeds in the Nevada deserts.
Read more here.
Also on this day:
1925 – High school teacher John T Scopes is found guilty of teaching human evolution in class
1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the first female elected as head of state
1969 – Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the surface of the moon
1979 – Jay Silverheels becomes the first Native American actor to have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame
2012 – Erden Eruc completes the first solo human powered circumnavigation of the world
Arrivals
1899 – Ernest Hemingway, US writer and Nobel Laureate (‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’)
1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian filmmaker (‘In the Heat of the Night’, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, ‘Moonstruck’)
1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), British singer songwriter (‘Father and Son’, ‘Wild World’, ‘Moonshadow’)
1948 – Garry Trudeau, US cartoonist (‘Doonesbury’)
1951 – Robin Williams, US comedian and actor (‘Popeye’, ‘Good Morning Vietnam’, ‘Mrs Doubtfire’)
Departures
1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African actor (‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, ‘Captain Blood’, ‘Sherlock Holmes’)
1977 – Lee Miller, US model, photographer and war correspondent
1998 – Alan Shephard, US Naval office, pilot and astronaut. First American in space
2015 – E L Doctorov, US writer (‘Ragtime’, ‘Billy Bathgate’, ‘Wakefield’)
2023 – Tony Bennet, US singer (‘I Left my Heart in San Francisco’, ‘The Good Life’)
The Funnies:
Recipe of the day: Plum Jam
The plum tree in our garden has produced over 15kg of fruit this year and although we have eaten many, stewed and frozen more, we still needed to make some jam to use the rest. This recipe from BBC Food is quite simple and if you have fruit to spare or just fancy some jam, it’s good to try.
Ingredients
· 1kg/2lb 4oz plums, halved and stones removed
· 1 large lemon or 1 orange, juice only
· 700g/1lb 9oz granulated sugar
Method
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Put the plums, lemon juice and 150ml/5fl oz water in a heavy-based saucepan or preserving pan. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 5 minutes until the plums are beginning to soften a little. Add the sugar, a third at a time, stirring until dissolved, then remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan and leave for a couple of hours or overnight so the mixture can cool – the plums will sink from the surface as they become heavier.
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Return the pan to the heat, stirring to remove any sugar clumps on the base of the pan, and carefully bring the mixture to the boil. Increase the heat and bring to a rapid boil for approximately 10 minutes until the setting point is reached (see tips). Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes to allow the fruit to settle.
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Tip the jam into a wide-necked jug with a good pouring lip, then fill four sterilised jars to the brim. Seal immediately with the lids and store in a cool, dark place. The jam is best eaten within 1 year.
Quote of the Day:
“A good shouting at somebody always makes you feel better and in control, especially if you aren’t.” (Nation)
– Sir Terry Pratchett
Choon of the Day:
Happy Birthday Cat Stevens….
Comic of the Day:
Mouseover: “Maybe encouraging the publication of null results isn’t enough–maybe we need a journal devoted to publishing results the study authors find personally annoying.”
Image Credit: https://xkcd.com/3117
Explain XKCD: explain xkcd
Inspirobot Always Controversial, Occasionally Inspirational Quote of the Day:
That’s just Inspirobot’s opinion, of course, but feel free to hate mine if you wish!
If you missed Friday’s microprocessor powered Spark! from @Lonny6654, you can find it here:
(Spark! Pro series – 18th July 2025)
