On 3 February 2009, Andrée Peel (France) celebrated her 104th birthday making her the oldest, known, surviving female member of the French Resistance. Born Andrée Virot and known as Agent Rose, she was, after the German invasion of France in May 1940, involved in the distribution of clandestine newspapers but was quickly made Head of an Under-Section in the French Resistance reporting troop movements and other information on military targets. She then became active in the secret return of allied airmen, assisting allied aircraft to Continue reading →

The oldest tattoos belong to the mummified “iceman”, aka Otzi, who also holds the record for the world’s oldest ice body. His 5,300-year-old body was found in the Alps in 1991 covered in 57 tattoos.

The oldest surviving judicial code was that of King Ur-Nammu during the third dynasty of Ur, Iraq, c. 2250BC. The oldest English statute in the Statute Book is a section of the Statute of Marlborough of 18 Nov 1267, re-entitled in 1948 `The Distress Act 1267′ and most recently cited in the High Court in 1986. Some statutes enacted by Henry II (died 1189) and earlier kings are even more durable, as they have been assimilated into the Common Law. Longest in the UK The Continue reading →

The star HE1327-2326 is located 4,000 light years from Earth. Its age is measured by its composition. When the universe was formed, it consisted of hydrogen with some helium. As it evolved, the rest of the chemical elements appeared, formed by nuclear synthesis in stars. HE1327-2326 has almost no metal content in it (just 1/300,000th of the metal content of our own Sun), so must have formed from clouds of gas consisting of almost pure hydrogen and helium, when the universe was young. It may Continue reading →

The oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world is the University of Karueein, founded in 859 AD in Fez, Morocco. The University of Bologna, Italy, was founded in 1088 and is the oldest one in Europe. The Sumerians had scribal schools or É-Dub-ba soon after 3500BC.

Giacomo and Giovanni Battista Tocci were born in northern Italy on 4 Oct 1877 and lived to be 63 years old. They were separate above the waist, but shared an abdomen, pelvis, and two legs. When they were just one month old, they were given by their parents to doctors at the Royal Academy of Medicine in Turin to be studied and exhibited. During the period in which they were exhibited, the Tocci brothers were among the most dramatic and well-known sights in Europe and Continue reading →

At the age of 56 years, Jacilyn Dalenberg (USA) acted as surrogate mother for her daughter, Kim Coseno (USA), and carried and delivered her own grandchildren – three girls. The babies were delivered by caesarian section at Hillcrest Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, on 11 October 2008.

The oldest champion was Elizabeth Ryan who won the 1934 women’s doubles with Simone Mathieu (France) at 42 years 88 days. The oldest singles champion was Andrés Gimeno (Spain)  in 1972 at 34 years 301 days.

No bowler in first-class cricket has yet achieved five wickets with five consecutive balls. The nearest approach was that of Charles Warrington Leonard Parker (1882-1959) (Gloucestershire) in his own benefit match against Yorkshire at Bristol on 10 Aug 1922, when he struck the stumps with five successive balls but the second was called as a no-ball. The only man to have taken four wickets with consecutive balls more than once is Robert James Crisp (1911-94) for Western Province v. Griqualand West at Johannesburg, South Africa Continue reading →

Mel Gibson in 1996 became the fifth actor to receive an Oscar for directing with his film Braveheart (USA 1995), after Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves (USA 1990), Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven (USA 1992), and Million Dollar Baby (USA 2004), Robert Redford for Ordinary People (USA 1980) and Woody Allen for Annie Hall (USA 1977). Woody Allen (USA) has been nominated for Best Director six times  Annie Hall (USA 1977), Interiors (USA 1978Broadway Danny Rose (USA 1984)Hannah and her Sisters (USA 1986)Crimes and Misdemeanors Continue reading →