Stan’s Strange but True: October

Stan Bowes, from Diggle, has uncovered some interesting and entertaining facts – you just couldn’t make them up.

Strange but true
Thomas Midgley, Jr. (1889–1944) was an American who contracted polio at the age of 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised a system of strings and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. Unfortunately, when alone, he tried to lift himself, became entangled, and died of strangulation at the age of 55. Thomas was more famous – or infamous – for developing not only tetraethyl lead, the ‘lead’ in petrol, but also chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Elsewhere, in 1923 Frank Hayes, a jockey at Belmont Park, New York, died of a heart attack during the course of his first race. His mount finished first with his body still attached to the saddle, and he was only discovered to be dead when the horse’s owner went to congratulate him.

Improve your vocabulary
Snarge: If you’re squeamish, don’t read on… Aircraft are sometimes incapacitated by bird-strikes – birds being ingested by their jet engines. The remains of the birds, used to identify the species, are referred to as ‘snarge’ by air-crash investigators.

Apophthegms
The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.